[Entered  according  to  Ac*  of  Congress.] 


ANCIENT  AMERICA, 


19TH  EDITION. 


REFERENCES: 


I'^rom  the  Courier. 

NKW-YORK,  MARCH  31,  1847. 

The  subscriber  having  heard  with  much  pleasure  the  Lectures  on  the  "Antiquities 
of  America,"  delivered  by  Professor  Davis  before  the  Pupils,  Teachers  and  Professors 
of  our  Seminary,  cheerfully  recommends  ihe  same  to  the  citizens  of  this  city. 

J.  F.  SGHROEDER,  Rector  of  St.  Ann's  Hall. 


We  arc  also  happy  in  joinin 


in  the  above  recommendation. 
HON.  JOHN  DUER, 
HON.  MURRAY  HOFFMAN, 
MAJOR  GEN.  EDMUND  P.  GAINES, 
STEPHEN  II.  TYNG,  D.  D.    . 
G.  SPRING,  D.  D. 
HENRY  P.  TAPPAN,J7.  D. 


Translation  of  a  letter  in  French,  from  C.  Canda,  Esq. 

To  PROFESSOR  DAVIS. 

DEAR  Sin:— I  cannot  resist  the  desire  to  express  to  you  the  extreme  satisfaction 
which  the  Lectures  you  delivered  at  our  Institution.  Lafayette  Place,  has  given  us 
on  the  Antiquities  of  America  in  general,  and  those  of  Central  America  in  particular 
These  Lectures,  delivered  with  a.  persuasive  and  impressive  eloquence,  have  given  our 
youn°r  pupils  much  enjoyment.  The  judicious  observations,  and  elevated  reflections, 
have  excited  their  interest,  and  caused  them  to  study  more  attentively  the  subject 
which  you  rendered  so  attractive,  and  which  arrested  their  attention. 

Pray  receive  our  thanks  and  the  assurance  of  our  high  respect, 

CHARLES  CANDA. 
Lafayette  Place,  New-York  June  9,  184G. 

nother  communication  was  received  from  Mr.  C.,  signed,  also,  by  fifty  young 
of  Madame  Canda's  celebrated  Boarding  School,  highly  recommending  the 
Lectures. 


ANTIQUITIES  OF  AMERICA, 

E/of 

•  D3I    THE  FIRST  INHABITANTS 

\ 


OF 


CENTRAL   AMERICA 


AND    THE 


DISCOVERY  OF  NEW-ENGLAND, 

BY  THE  NORTHMEN, 
FIVE   HUNDRED  YEARS  BEFORE  COLUMBUS. 

LECTURES 

Delivered  in  New-York,  \Vashiiig1on,  Boston,  and  oilier  cities.    The  first 
lias  been  given  eighteen  'times  In  the  most  distinguished 
institutions  of  New-York  and  Brook 
lyn  the  past  year. 

BY    A.    DAVIS, 

Corresponding  Member  of  the  New-York  Historical  Society,  and  formerly  Chaplain  of  the 
Senate  of  New-York. 

19th  EDITION,  WITH  IMPORTANT  ADDITIONS,  j  . 


N  E  W-Y  0  R  K  : 

DANIEL  ADEE,   PRINTER,   107   FULTON-STREBT. 

1847. 


OLD  STONE  TOWER,  AT  NEWPORT.  R.  I. 


ANTIQUITIES  OF  AMEEICA. 

If,  in  presenting  the  following  facts,  derived  from  various  and  im 
portant  sources,  and  gathered  by  years  of  study,  I  should  throw  one 
ray  of  light  on  the  darkness  of  the  past,  my  feeble  efforts  will  be 
more  beneficial  than  the  most  fascinating  effulgence  thrown  over  the 
writings  of  misguided  genius. 

While  the  beauties  of  the  visible  creation  fade  on  the  eye,  while 
nature  reposes  under  the  mantle  of  night,  it  is  pleasant  to  leave  the 
haunts  of  business,  or  domestic  scenes,  and  come  up  to  the  lecture  room 
to  survey  the  dark  scenes  of  the  past  under  the  mild  light  of  history. 

If  in  the  following  remarks  I  should  not  regale  my  readers  with 
"  apples  of  gold  in  pictures  of  silver,"  it  will  not  be  for  want  of  merit 
in  my  subject — the  Desolations  of  Time ;  for  on  them  nations  are 
gazing. 

If  the  age  of  Leo  X.  was  characterised  by  great  attention  to  the 
fine  arts,  so  the  present  is  remarkable,  not  only  for  its  devotion  to 
the  embellishments  of  life,  but  for  progress  in  historical  and  anti 
quarian  researches.  The  most  gifted  minds  of  either  sex  are  in 
terested  in  these  studies.  The  crowned  heads  of  Europe,  instead  of 
imbruing  their  hands  in  the  blood  of  their  fellows,  are  spending 
mints  of  money  in  unfolding  the  early  history  of  the  world.* 
That  spirit  of  inquiry  which  awoke,  perhaps,  in  the  East,  folds  not 
its  wings  in  apathy  in  crossing  the  Atlantic :  for  here  its  develop 
ments  astonish  both  hemispheres.  Knowledge  is  spreading  over  the 
earth,  not  like  the  morning  beams,  which  gild  only  the  mountain 
tops,  but  like  the  noon-tide  rays,  that  penetrate  the  deep  valleys.j 

The  active  mind  of  man  instinctively  surveys  the  dark  regions 
of  the  past,  and  would  %gladly  break  the  unfathomable  silence  of  the 
nations  of  the  dead,  and  raise  the  veil  where  their  beauty  and  glory 
have  slept  for  ages.  This  strong  desire  to  learn  something  of  those 
who  lived  when  time  was  young,  leads  the  antiquary,  too  often,  to 
adopt  groundless  theories.  But  if  there  are  counterfeit  antiquities 
there  are  those  also  that  are  genuine. 

It  will  be  recollected  that  the  avaricious  Spaniards  discovered  and 
conquered  Mexico  in  the  North,  and  Peru  and  Chili  on  the  South 
of  Central  America,  in  the  first  place.  But  at  length  the  solitude 
of  the  latter  was  broken ;  and  there  was  discovered  the  "  El  Dora 
do,"  about  which  the  whole  Spanish  nation  had  so  long  been  dreaming. 

*  The  King  of  Prussia  has  lately  established  a  professorship  of  Egyptian  antiquities. 

fThe  following  just  tribute  of  praise  was  given  by  Mr.  Davis,  in  his  lecture,  University  Chapel, 
N.  Y.,  to  the  Historical  Society,  in  speaking  of  the  progress  of  antiquarian  research  : 

"  And  are  there  not  more  stars  in  the  Northern  than  in  the  Southern  hemisphere  ?  So  there  are 
more  constellations  of  intellectual  light  in  the  former  than  in  the  latter.  And  one  of  the  most 
conspicuous  is  the  Historical  Society  of  New-York.  The  light  beams  afar,  and  by  its  influence 
prominent  men  from  foreign  countries  are  being  enrolled  among  the  names  of  its  distinguished 
members." 


4  A    LECTURE    ON    THE 

The  appearance  of  these  ruins  shows  that  a  nation  once  existed 
there,  highly  skilled  in  the  mechanic  arts,  and  in  a  state  of  civili 
zation  far  beyond  any  thing  that  we  have  been  led  to  believe  of  the 
aborigines,  previous  to  the  time  of  Columbus. 

The  antiquities  of  America  may  be  divided  into  three  classes, 
left  in  succession  by  nations  more  or  less  enlightened ;  as  the  ruins  of 
Central  America,  of  Mexico  and  Peru,  and  of  regions  farther  North. 

The  first  knowledge  of  the  ruins,  South,  was  derived  from  ac 
counts  given  by  straggling  hunters. 

In  1787,  the  Spanish  government  sent  out  Captain  Del  Rio  to 
survey  the  ruins. 

Waldeck,  in  18:22,  published  in  London  an  account  of  Rio's  dis 
coveries. 

Capt.  Dupaix  was  sent  on  a  mission  to  Central  America  in  1805. 
He  supposes  the  ruins  were  left  before  the  deluge.  Lord  Kings - 
boro'  gave  an  account  of  Dupaix's  researches.  His  work  I  saw  in 
the  Library  of  a  distinguished  historian,  Wm.  H.  Prescott,  Esq., 
Boston.  This  splendid  work,  at  $400  a  volume,  cost  the  author 
his  fortune. 

Waldeck  visited  Central  America  in  1832,  and  spent  4  years  in 
that  region.  He  took  many  drawings  of  the  ruins,  but  on  his  re 
turn  they  were  seized  by  the  perfidious  Mexicans. 

On  losing  the  fruits  of  his  long  toil,  he  must  have  felt  like  An 
tony  on  being  betrayed  by  Cleopatra : 

"Ail  is  lost! 

This  foul  Egyptian  has  betrayed  me; 
My  fleet  hath  yielded  to  the  foe ; 
Fortune  and  Antony  part  here ;  even  here 
Do  we  shake  hands." 

The  late  Governor  Galindo,  of  Peten,  in  Central  America,  has 
corresponded  with  the  late  Lieut.  Governor  Wiathrop,  Boston,  rela 
tive  to  the  antiquities  of  that  region.  For  the  great  discoveries 
made,  he  has  received  a  premium  from  one  of  the  literary  societies 
•f  Europe, 

He,  in  speaking  of  one  of  the  cities  in  the  vicinity  of  Palenque, 
says  that  a  gigantic  Massica,  or  bread-fruit  tree,  grows  on  one  of 
the  altars,  encircling  it  with  its  powerful  roots.  The  most  remark 
able  trees  growing  over  the  ruins,  are  the  mahogany,  cedar,  choco 
late,  &c.  One  of  the  squares  of  the  city  is  surrounded  with  six 
handsome  obelisks,  the  highest  of  which  is  more  than  six  yards  high. 
They  all  bear,  in  basso-relievo,  gigantic  figures.  One  temple  has 
eighty  such  figures. 

The  temple  of  Copan  was  653  feet  by  524  feet  in  dimensions. 
It  must  have  been  as  large  as  St.  Peter's  Church  in  Rome.  Let  us 
gaze  on  this  mighty  structure  for  instruction.  It  stands  as  a  land 
mark  on  the  broad  field  of  time, — it  reminds  us  of  the  remote  ori- 


DISCOVERY    OF    AMERICA.  5 

gin  of  a  great  empire.  Centuries  must  have  rolled  away,  dynas 
ties  must  have  succeeded  each  other,  before  orders  of  architecture 
were  introduced ;  and  a  long  time  must  have  elapsed  before  an  em 
pire  would  become  so  luxurious  as  to  erect  the  stupendous  temple 
of  Copan. 

Among  the  vast  pile  of  ruins  is  found  an  architrave  of  black  gran 
ite,  finely  cut.  Six  granite  columns  are  seen,  each  of  a  single  piece 
seventeen  feet  high,  and  three  feet  in  diameter. 

The  Mayon  architecture  in  Yucatan  is  said  to  be  superior  to 
that  of  Palenque.  It  is  wrought  in  stone,  and  finished  with  great 
elegance. 

Gen.  Santa  Anna  says,  that  the  antiquities  of  Central  America  are 
worthy  of  being  placed  in  parallel  with  the  pyramids  of  Egypt. 

Palenque,  which  lies  240  miles  from  Tobasco,  lat.  17°  N.,  is  among 
the  most  remarkable  cities  of  the  South.  Palenque  is  a  Castilian 
word,  and  means  "lists  for  fighting." 

This  city  has  been  emphatically  called  the  Thebes  of  America.  In 
surveying  its  ruins,  the  traveler  is  led  to  believe  that  it  was  founded 
at  as  early  a  period  as  the  renowned  cities  of  Egypt. 

How  immense  the  city  !  It  is  supposed  to  have  been  sixty  miles  in 
circumference;  and  that  it  contained  a  population  of  nearly  three 
millions. 

Palenque,  lying  about  one  thousand  miles  from  Mexico,  and  being 
elevated  five  thousand  feet  above  the  ocean,  enjoyed  a  climate  almost 
unequaled  for  its  pleasantness.  The  natural  beauty  of  the  scenery 
was  unrivaled,  and  the  soil  rich  and  fertile  beyond  any  other  portion 
of  the  globe. 

One  of  the  principal  structures  revealed  to  the  eye  of  the  antiqua 
rian,  is  the  Teoculi,  or  temple.  Its  style  of  architecture  resembles 
the  Gothic.  It  is  rude,  massive,  and  durable.  Though  resembling 
the  Egyptian  edifices,  also,  yet  this  and  the  other  buildings  are  pecu 
liar,  and  are  diiferent  from  all  others  hitherto  known. 

The  entrance  to  this  temple  is  on  the  east  side,  by  a  portico  more 
than  one  hundred  feet  in  length,  and  nine  broad.  The  rectangular 
pillars  of  the  portico  have  their  architraves  adorned  with  stucco  work 
of  shields  and  other  devices.  The  temple  stands  on  an  elevation  of 
sixty  feet.  Among  the  ruins  different  objects  of  worship  have  been 
found  ;  and  in  particular,  an  idol  of  pure  gold  about  six  inches  long. 
Amid  this  wilderness  of  ruins  are  now  to  be  seen  fourteen  large  stone 
buildings,  with  many  of  their  apartments  in  good  condition. 

The  antiquity  of  this  city  is  manifest,  not  only  from  its  nameless 
hieroglyphics  and  other  objects,  but  from  the  age  of  some  of  the  trees 
growing  orer  buildings  where  once  the  hum  of  industry  and  the  voice 
of  merriment  were  heard.  The  concentric  circles  of  some  of  these 
trees  were  counted,  which  showed  that  they  were  more  than  900  years 
of  age.  Mr.  Brown,  who  lives  in  the  vicinity  of  Palenque,  has  a 
table,  the  entire  kaf  of  which  was  made  from  a  tree  growing  over 
these  ruins. 


6  A  LECTURE  ON  THE 

Similar  beautiful  and  majestic  ruins  extend  1000  miles.  Hurn- 
boldt  visited  a  splendid  building,  800  miles  from  Mexico,  that  forty 
years  since  was  seven  stories  high.  The  Spaniards  have  demolished 
it  mostly  to  get  materials  for  building  dwellings  and  sugar-houses. 
Have  not  the  Vandals  of  the  New  World  made  desolation  more  des 
olate  ? 

Mr.  Stephens'  new  work  on  "  Central  America97  confirms  the  state 
ments  of  other  travelers,  while  it  heightens  our  wonder  by  the  graphic 
description  of  the  ruins  of  the  desolated  cities,  especially  of  those 
found  in  Copan  and  Palenque.  There,  he  says,  "  architecture,  sculp 
ture,  painting,  and  all  the  arts  that  embellish  life,  had  flourished  in 
an  overgrown  forest." 

Among  the  specimens  of  the  arts,  he  found  massive  obelisks  bear 
ing  on  their  sides  sculptured  images,  and  medallion  tablets — large 
altars,  ornamented  with  hieroglyphics  giving  a  record  of  those 
who  reared  them — splendid  temples,  adorned  with  human  figures  exe 
cuted  in  stucco  and  bass  relief — walls  built  of  hewn  stone.  The 
specimens  of  sculpture  equaled  any  thing  he  saw  in  Egypt. 

In  his  second  work  he  says,  "  These  ruins  are  skeletons  rising  from 
their  graves,  wrapt  in  their  shrouds,  claiming  no  affinity  with  the 
works  of  any  known  people."  Long  will  these  works  of  art  stand 
alone  in  majesty  and  beauty,  * 

"  And  gorgeous  as  the  sun  at  midsummer." 

The  late  Chevalier  Fridrichstchal,  attache  of  the  Austrian  legation, 
lately  spent  nine  months  at  the  South.  He  found,  in  a  place  hitherto 
untrod  by  modern  travelers,  a  majestic  group  of  pillars.  There  were 
ten  rows,  and  in  each  row  there  were  forty-eight  columns.  With  his 
Daguerreotype  apparatus,  he  took  a  great  number  of  excellent  im 
pressions.  From  these  when  magnified,  he  has  made  drawings,  which 
show  the  original,  by  their  richness,  elegance,  and  finish,  to  1?e  the  work 
of  a  highly  cultivated  people. 

Mr.  Norman  has  published  a  valuable  work,  "  Rambles  in  Yuca 
tan,"  lat.  20°  North.  I  have  seen  some  of  his  remarkable  antiqui 
ties,  as  Penates,  hieroglyphics  on  lime  stone,  the  material  of  these 
buildings.  He  kindly  gave  me  a  piece  of  Zuporte  wood  from  lintels 
found  amid  the  ruins.  It  is  hard,  fine,  heavy,  and  as  lasting  as  time. 
Beautiful  were  the  architecture  and  paintings  he  saw.  The  latter 
was  in  fresco,  and  as  fresh  apparently  as  if  recently  executed.  The 
colors  were  sky  blue  and  light  green.  Mr.  N.  thinks  the  cities  of  the 
South  are  of  very  remote  origin ;  that  they  were  antiquities  before 
the  Christian  era. 

It  is  natural  that  we  should  linger  around  these  inanimate  objects. 
They  remind  us  of  splendid  cities  that,  like  Troy,  once  "  were." — 
But,  above  all,  they  tell  us  of  the  illustrious  of  other  days.  What 
are  ruins  to  us,  but  as  they  remind  us  of  the  enterprise  and  wisdom 
of  those  who  reared  them.  What  were  Carthage  without  the  recol- 


DISCOVERY    OF    AMERICA. 


lection  of  the  ill-fated  Dido,  or  the  daring  deeds  of  Hannibal  ?  And 
what  will  Mount  Vernon  be,  centuries  hence,  ^to  our  posterity,  but  as 
it  will  remind  them  of  the  valor,  patriotism,  and  virtues  of  the  Father 
of  our  Republic. 

The  monumental  history  of  Central  America  tells  us  that  this  is 
not  a  New  World.  And  we  awake  with  astonishment  that  there  was 
once  the  seat  of  a  great  empire,  before  David  reigned  over  the 
twelve  tribes  of  Israel,  or  Octavius  waved  his  sceptre  over  the  civil 
ized  world. 

But  alas!  the  foundation  of  cities  as  magnificent  as  those  thai 
adorned  the  banks  of  the  Nile,  have  vanished  like  the  generations 
before  the  flood. 

"  Every  house  is  builded  by  some  man,"  but  who  erected  the  splen 
did  temples  of  Palenque,  none  can  tell,  save  "  He  who  made  all 
things."  Unnumbered  centuries  have  passed  away  since  the  noon-day 
of  Palencian  glory.  There  the  wing  of  endless  night  broods  over  all 
that  was  once  beautiful  and  grand — 

"  Where  senates  once  the  weal  of  nations  planned 
Hisseth  the  gliding  snake,  through  hoary  weeds 
That  clasp  the  mouldering  columns." 

I  have  seen  an  original  representation  in  stucco  of  the  following 
Palencian  head,  possibly  a  representation  of  one  of  their  gods,  in  the 
possession  of  the  late  Professor  Dod,  Princeton  College.  Such  are 
found  on  the  palace  walls : 


Shade  of  Spurz- 
heim,  tell  if  thou 
canst,  what  quali 
ties  such  a  formed 
head  as  this  im 
plies  ! 


This  helmet 
is  said  to  re 
semble  those 
described  by 
Homer. 


8  A   LECTURE    ON    THE 

Oh !  that  some  mighty  genius,  like  that  of  Belzoni,  would  arise 
and  remove  from  this  city  of  the  world  called  new,  the  veil  that  con 
ceals  its  origin. 

It  is  supposed  by  Stephens  and  Norman  that  the  hieroglyphics  of 
the  South,  will,  like  those  of  Egypt,  at  length  be  developed.  In  an 
ticipation  of  those  developements,  well  may  we  exclaim,  "  visions  of 
glory  spare  our  aching  sight."  Deep  shades  rest  on  the  antiquities  of 
America,  yet  a  few  feeble  rays  of  light  enliven  the  gloom. 

That  spirit  of  inquiry  that  animates  all  classes  in  our  country  may 
yet  lead  to  the  reading  of  the  dark  characters  of  the  South,  as  Dr. 
Lepsius  of  Prussia,  a  disciple  of  Champolion,  has  deciphered  the  hiero 
glyphics  of  Egypt.  Champolion  saw  on  the  Rosetta  stone  three  in 
scriptions — the  Greek,  the  Demelic  and  the  Hieroglyphic ;  by  reading 
the  two  former  he  was  enabled  to  decipher  the  latter. 

It  is  supposed  that  this  city  was  destroyed  by  some  internal  convul 
sion,  or,  like  those  of  the  South  of  Europe,  was  overwhelmed  by  the 
barbarians  of  the  North. 

Possibly  famine  or  pestilence  might  have  desolated  that  fair  region. 
It  is  not  singular  that  it  should  have  been  concealed  from  view  for 
ages,  when  we  recollect  that  cities  of  the  eastern  continent  have,  in 
like  manner  remained  in  oblivion  till  of  late.  We  allude  to  the 
ruins  of  Paestum,  in  Campania,  of  Italy,  and  those  of  Petra  of  Idu- 
mea,  in  Asia.  A  new  forest,  hid  for  centuries — the  former  from  the 
degenerate  sons  of  Rome,  while  the  splendid  structures  of  Petra  were 
known  only  to  Bedouins  for  over  a  thousand  years.  Who  does  not 
delight  to  r,ead  about  the  roses  of  Paestum  ?  Yet  they  still  unfold 
their  inimitable  petals  amid  the  ruins  of  palaces,  and  beside  the  di 
lapidated  temples. 

Do  we  admire  the  boundless  forests,  the  lofty  mountains,  and  the 
majestic  rivers  of  our  hemisphere?  The  vast  wilderness  of  ruins, 
once  enlivened  by  intelligent  beings,  should  demand  a  higher  claim 
to  our  admiration. 

The  antiquities  of  America  stretch  from  the  great  lakes  of  the 
North  and  West,  to  the  southern  parts  of  Peru ;  from  the  Allegany 
mountains  on  the  East,  to  the  Rocky  mountains  on  the  West  j  and 
even  from  the  Pacific  to  the  Atlantic  ocean. 


The  Mexicans  hold  the  next  place  in  the  scale  of  civilization  to 
the  Central  Americans. 

The  Toltecs  probably  came  into  Anahuac,  or  the  vale  of  Mexico, 
at  the  close  of  the  seventh  century.  They  flourished  four  centuries, 
and  suddenly  disappeared.  They  were  an  enlightened  and  amiable 
people.  Though  pagans,,  they  did  not,  like  the  Aztecs,  who  took  pos 
session  of  the  country  in  1325,  offer  up  human  sacrifices. 

Although  the  Aztecs,  or  Mexicans,  excelled  in  astronomy,  archi 
tecture,  the  fine  arts,  agriculture,  legislation,  jurisprudence,  and  the 
display  of  many  of  those  social  virtues  that  dignify  humanity,  yet 


DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

their  theology  cast  a  dark^shade  over  all  the  attractions  their  history 
otherwise  displays. 

They  believed  in  one  Supreme  God,  in  thirteen  subordinate  deities, 
and  over  two  hundred  inferior  ones.  The  God  who  received  the  most 
devotion,  was  Mars  their  god  of  war.  On  his  altar  human  victims 
bled.  To  this  Moloch  of  the  West,  twenty  thousand  at  least  were 
offered  annually  !  Such  is  man  where  he  sees  not  the  attributes  of 
God  in  the  "  things  that  are  made."  Yes,  all  nature  is  but  the  re 
flection  of  the  true  God.  The  modest  violet,  fresh  from  the  sleep  of 
winter,  tells  him  there  is  a  God,  and  that  He  is  great  and  good. — 
[See  Rom.,  1.  20.]  Nought  but  the  bright  beams  of  the  "  Sun  of 
Righteousness"  can  dissipate  the  darkness  with  which  man  has  en 
shrouded  his  moral  nature. 

Remarkable  was  the  progress  of  the  Mexicans  in  the  science  of 
astronomy.  Their  year  was  divided  into  eighteen  months  of  twenty 
days  each ;  and  five  unlucky  days.  As  the  year  is  composed  of  nearly 
six  hours  more  than  three  hundred  and  sixty-five  days,  there  still  re 
mained  an  excess,  which  they  provided  for  by  intercalation.  At  the 
expiration  of  fifty-two  years,  the  end  of  a  cycle,  they  interposed  twelve 
and  a*  half  days,  the  number  which  had  fallen  in  arrear.  Time  was 
marked  on'  their  calendar  stones  with  as  much  accuracy  as  is  evinced 
by  the  modern  improvements  of  astronomy,  into  two  minutes  and  nine 
seconds  in  the  year.  I  have  seen  in  the  Museum  of  Mexican  anti 
quities  belonging  to  the  Philosophical  Society,  Philadelphia,  a  beauti 
ful  representation  of  a  large  calendar  stone  to  be  seen  in  the  city  of 
Mexico. 

If  the  Carthagenians  excelled  in  navigation,  the  Mexicans  were 
pre-eminent  in  a  sublime  pursuit.  Nature  impresses  on  the  multitude 
of  minds  a  various  bias.  To  the  Mexicans 

" she  taught  the  fabric  of  the  spheres; 

The  changeful  moon,  the  circuit  of  the  stars, 
The  golden  zones  of  heaven." 

How  magnificent  must  have  been  that  temple  in  Mexico,  at  whose 
altars  five  thousand  priests  officiated  !  But  the  city  of  Tezcuco,  on. 
the  opposite  shore  of  the  lake,  was  still  the  seat  of  a  higher  advance 
in  civilization,  than  was  displayed  in  Mexico.  It  was  the  capital  of 
a  splendid  kingdom  of  that  name.  It  was  the  Athens  of  the  West 
ern  World.  The  King  erected  a  magnificient  pile  of  buildings.  It 
extended  from  East  to  West  1234  yards,  and  from  North  to  South 
978.  Innumerable  were  the  attractions  that  met  the  eye  on  wander 
ing  through  the  courts  of  this  majestic  structure. 

As  walls  incrusted  with  alabasters  and  richly-tinted  stucco,  tapes 
tries  of  variegated  feather  work,  gardens  with  baths,  and  sparkling 
fountains  overshadowed  by  groves  of  Cyprus  and  cedar.  There  na 
ture  seemed  ever  dressed  in  her  bridal  robes ;  there  light  and  shade 
combined  to  perfect  the  landscape. 


10  A  LECTURE  ON  THE 

While  America  excels  the  Eastern  continent  in  the  magnitude  of 
its  rivers  and  mountains,  it  can  present  also  the  largest  pyramid  on 
the  globe, — that  of  Cholula,  six  miles  from  Puebla,  Mexico.  It  cov 
ers  44  acres.  It  is  ISO  feet  high.  Its  top  includes  one  acre.  On 
this  lofty  eminence,  in  days  of  yore,  stood  an  altar  where  human  vic 
tims  were  immolated  to  appease  the  wrath  of  the  angry  deity,  whose 
image  stood  near.  And  'strange  to  tell,  their  bodies  were  afterwards 
devoured  as  a  religious  rite ! 

Ah;  could  those  "  morning  stars"  that  sang  together  at  the  birth  of 
a  fair  creation,  weep,  would  they  not  shed  tears  on  witnessing  the 
barbarity  of  those  "  who  have  sought  out  many  inventions.'1 

In  contemplating  the  Mexicans,  we  are  reminded  of  the  importance 
of  revelation;  for  though  ^lightened,  yet,  "by  wisdom  they  knew 
not  God." 

If  the  Central  Americans  came  from  the  plains  of  Shinar,  it  is 
supposed  the  Mexicans  emigrated  from  the  North- West.  Baron  Von 
Humboldt  says  the  Mexicans  had  many  traditions  of  the  fall  of  man, 
and  of  the  flood,  and  he  thinks  they  came  originally  from  Aztland, 
lat.  42°  north. 

John  Delafield,  Jr.,  Esq.,  has  published  an  interesting  work  on  the 
antiquities  of  Mexico.  He  thinks  the  Mexicans  "  emigrated  from 
the  North,  and  on  their  way  constructed  the  various  tumuli,  embank 
ments,  fossa,  &c.,  found  in  Western  North  America."  An  "  Aztec 
map,"  some  14  feet  in  length,  accompanies  the  volume,  and  explains 
the  travels  of  this  race  through  America. 

Much  has  been  learned  in  relation  to  Mexican  history,  but  much 
must  remain  forever  concealed,  as  the  first  Archbishop  of  Mexico 
caused  a  mountainous  pile  to  be  made  of  the  first  MSS.  of  that  coun 
try,  and  ordered  them  to  be  burnt  in  the  market  place.  Such  was  the 
loss  effected  by  the  Omar  of  the  West. 


We  know  less  of  the  antiquities  of  Peru  than  of  those  farther 
North.  The  Peruvians  may  be  ranked  with  the  Mexicans  in  point 
of  civilization.  [See  Appendix.] 

!  The  antiquities  of  North  America  consist  of  fortifications,  mounds, 
pottery,  metallic  instruments,  &c.  They  must  have  been  left  by 
intelligent  nations  at  an  early  period.  This  is  evident  from  the  re 
mark  of  the  late  President  Harrison.  He  observes  that  it  would 
ta^e  the  trees  growing  where  a  forest  was  cut  down  fifty  years  since, 
five  hundred  years  to  equal  in  height  the  surrounding  woods,  and  that 
a  forest  of  the  largest  trees  at  the  mouth  of  the  Great  Miami,  con 
sisting  of  fifteen  acres,  covers  the  ruins  left  by  former  races. 

There  are  the  remains  of  a  fortification,  60  miles  west  of  Milwau- 
kie,  including  an  area  of  many  acres  of  land.  Large  trees  are  grow- 


DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA.  11 

ing  on  the  walls.     I  have  a  piece  of  the  burnt  brick  of  which  they  are 
built.     This  place  is  called  Aztland. 

I  have  also  a  piece  of  a  pillar  found  fifteen  feet  below  the  surface 
of  the  earth  in  Chautauque  county,  N.  Y.  Nameless  are  similar 
antiquities  the  curious  and  intelligent  are  bringing  to  light  from  va 
rious  parts. 

The  people  of  Ohio,  living  in  a  land  of  monuments,  are  much  in 
terested  in  the  study  of  antiquities. 

Mr.  Squier,  of  Chilicothe,  has  found  some  remarkable  antiquities 
in  mounds  of  that  vicinity.  He  has  penetrated  a  large  number  of 
the  ancient  tumuli.  He  divides"  them  mainly  into  "three  classes. — 
The  first  was  erected  for  sacrificial  altars,  such  being  found  under 
the  different  strata.  The  second  were  built  as  burial  places,  and  the 
third  for  places  of  look-out. 

First  Inhabitants  of  America. — We  will  not  say,  as  the  Athe 
nians  said  of  their  nation,  that  the  first  inhabitants  of  America  were 
created  when  the  sun  was  first  lit  up  in  the  sky ;  but  we  must  presume 
they  early  reached  this  continent  from  the  old  world. 

The  learned  Dr.  Clarke  says  that  the  continents  were  once  united, 
but  that,  by  the  force  of  winds  and  waves,  the  isthmuses  were  broken 
up  and  formed  into  islands  along  the  coasts.  Easy,  however,  is  the 
transition  from  the  East  to  the  West,  by  the  way  of  Bhering's  straits, 
when  we  consider  that  they  are  only  thirteen  leagues  wide. 

Adverse  winds,  also,  might  have  driven  the  frail  vessels  of  the  an 
cients  to  the  region  lying  on  the  gulf  of  Mexico,  and  elsewhere. 

But,  as  tropical  animals  found  in  America  could  not  have  crossed 
over  by  Bhering's  straits  when  frozen,  they  must  have  come  by  land 
that  once  extended  from  Asia,  or  Africa  to  America  in  the  torrid  zone. 
Should  it  be  asked  why  certain  animals,  as  the  horse  and  the  cow,  not 
found  originally  on  this  continent,  did  not  cross  by  this  continuous 
range  of  lands,  we  answer,  because  the  original  continent  was  divided 
as  possibly  in  the  days  of  Peleg,  (Gen.  10,  25,)  before  such  animals 
had  an  opportunity  to  migrate. 

^  I  am  inclined  to  believe  that  the  land  that  united  the  now  two  con 
tinents,  was  the  Atlantis,  spoken  of  by  Plato,  Homer  and  Hesoid. — 
Plato  saw  an  account  of  this  land  which  disappeared,  in  the  hiero 
glyphics  of  Egypt.  I  saw  in  the  Jesuits'  College,  Georgetown,  an  im 
portant  article  on  this  subject.  It  was  stated  that  there  were  the  re 
mains  of  a  sunken  tract  of  land  once  lying  between  Brazil  and  Afri 
ca — that  such  are  seen  also  in  the  islands  of  Cape  Verd  and  Ascension, 
and  others,  and  in  the  numerous  sandbanks  observed  by  Bauche  in 
particular,  who  sounded  that  part  of  the  Atlantic  with  great  accuracy. 

Extract  of  a  letter  from  Rev.  Mr.  Heyer  to  Rev.  Dr.  Van  Vrankin, 
New-Brunswick. — "  Mr.  Davis  advocates  the  theory  that  I  met  with 
more  than  twenty  years  ago,  in  '  Calcott  on  the  Deluge/  that  America 
was  peopled  by  land  soon  after  the  flood  ;  that  at  that  time  America 
was  united  to  the  eastern  continent,  and  that  in  the  days  of  Peleg  the 


12  A  LECTURE  ON  THE 

earth  was  divided.  *The  Hebrew  word  NEPELEGEH,  divided  as  by  the 
coming  in  of  the  sea ;  from  the  Greek  word  Pelagos,  and  the  Latin 
word  Pelagus,  being  derived. 

I  think  from  the  plains  of  Shinar,  men  and  animals  diverged  in  all 
directions.  As  it  is  said  in  Gen.  11,  8,  '  So  the  Lord  scattered  them 
from  thence  upon  the  face  of  all  the  earth.'  JJ 

As  the  Europeans  on  coming  here  found  none  or  few  animals  pecu 
liar  to  the  eastern  continent,  I  think  only  a  part  of  the  various  spe 
cies  preserved  by  Noah,  migrated  west.  Those  left  behind  ever  re 
mained  different  from  those  found  in  the  New  World  by  the  Span 
iards.  If  this  idea  is  new  to  others,  I  hope  it  may  be  considered  more 
reasonable  than  the  infidel  opinion,  that  men  and  animals  were  dis 
tinct  creations  here  from  those  of  Asia. 

I  found  this  idea  corroborated  by  Buffon.  as  quoted  by  Clavigero  in 
his  work  on  Mexico. 

^Think  you  they  would  have  transported  venomous  serpents  from 
the  old  to  the  new  world  ? 

Ogilby,  cosmographer  to  the  English  sovereign,  1671,  thinks  that 
men  and  animals  came,  immediately  after  the  flood,  from  Armenia  to 
Tartary ;  and  from  the  latter  place  to  this  continent,  by  a  continuous 
range  of  land  extending  from  Asia  to  America  by  Bhering's  straits. 

I  think  with  Georgii  Hornii,  who  published  his  views,  1629,  in  a 
Latin  book,  that  the  migration  to  this  continent  took  place  immedi 
ately  after  the  confusion  of  tongues  at  Babel. 

By  this  primitive  people,  the  cities  of  the  South  rose  probably  sim 
ultaneously  with  those  that  adorned  the  banks  of  the  Nile.* 

After  a  brief  survey  of  American  antiquities,  well  may  we,  like 
the  old  patriot  of  Rome,  ascend  some  lofty  eminence  and  look  over 
the  wide  space  of  desolation !  Where  once  nations  met  in  the  noon 
day  of  their  glory,  now  wild  beasts  roam  and  venomous  serpents  wend 
their  way.  To  gaze  upon  the  past,  we  must  cross  the  melancholy 
flood 

"  Unto  the  kingdom  of  pei-petual  night." 

So  pass  away  the  glories  of  the  world,  with  man  its  lord !     There 
is  nothing  permanent,  save  in  the  Spirit's   land,   and   if  there  be 
any  change  there,  it  is  Eternity's  rich  drama  of  bloom  and  perfec 
tion. 
^  The  eyes  of  mankind,  from  the  time  of  Pythagoras,  have  been 

II  The  traces  of  an  extinct  race  of  men  about  nine  feet  in  length,  are  to  be  found  in  various  parts, 
as  in  Ohio,  Kentucky,  Pennsylvania,  Rhode  Island,  and  New  York. 

And  is  it  strange  it  should  have  been  said  in  the  sacred  volume,  "  and  there  were  giants  in  those 
•lays  ?" 

The  lights  of  science  and  revelation  commingle,  Ibiming  one  broad  stream  of  light  that  is  not  lost 
but  amid  the  radiance  that  encircles  the  throne  of  the  Eternal. 

As  to  the  red  men,  clouds  of  obscurity  conceal  their  origin.  Mr.  Schoolcraft,  late  Indian  Agent, 
thinks  they  are  of  Asiatic  origin.  Many  suppose  they  are  the  descendants  of  the  Israelites.  Vague 
are  their  own  traditions  as  to  their  origin.  Some  Indians  say  they  come  from  the  East,  some  Irom, 
the  West ;  some  from  the  North,  and  some  from  the  South.  'Some  think  they  came  from  beneath  the 
earth  :  other  suppose  they  came  from  the  skies. 


DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA.  13 

turned  to  the  West,  in  anticipation  that  here  new  discoveries  were  to 
be  made ;  and  hither  were  the  adventurers  at  length  led. 

Seneca,  Diodorus  Siculus,  Aristotle,  as  well  as  others,  speak  of 
regions  west  of  the  Atlantic. 

It  is  thought  Virgil  alludes,  in  the  following  lines,  to  places  West. 

In  speaking  of  Augustus,  he  says  that — 

''  He  shall  his  power  to  India  extend, 
Beyond  the  annual  circle,  and  beyond 
The  sun's  long  progress,  where  great  Atlas  bears. 
Laden  with  golden  stars,  the  glittering  spheres."  * 

First  known  Discoveries  of  America. — The  discovery  of  America 
by  the  Northmen  excites  a  vast  deal  of  curiosity.  And  is  it  not  a 
laudable  curiosity  that  leads  one  to  ascertain  what  white  men  first 
trod  regions  in  which  the  modest  wild  flower  wasted  its  sweetness  on 
the  desert  air  ? 

As  geography  is  one  of  the  eyes  of  History,  it  would  be  well  at  this 
time  to  direct  the  attention  to  the  map  of  North  America,  and  to  those 
of  Massachusetts  and  Rhode  Island  in  particular. 

The  Royal  Society  of  Northern  Antiquarians,  in  Copenhagen,  have 
lately  published  an  important  work.  While  the  contents  of  this 
massive  work  are  invaluable,  its  mechanical  execution  reflects  great 
honor  on  the  society  that  published  it. 

This  work  is  called,  as  translated  from  Latin,  "American  An 
tiquities,  or  Northern  Writings  of  Things  in  America,  before  the  time 
of  Columbus." 

The  determination  was  formed  some  years  since  by  the  Royal  So 
ciety  of  Antiquarians  in  Copenhagen,  to  publish  the  authorities  on 
which  these  accounts  rest,  in  the  original  documents,  accompanied 
with  full  commentaries  and  illustrations.  The  text  is  in  the  Icelandic 
'tongue. 

The  inquiry  is  often  made,  "  Who  are  the  Northmen  ?"  They 
were  the  descendants  of  the  Scandinavians,  who,  it  is  thought,  sprang 
from  the  Thracians  mentioned  by  Homer — a  nation  now  extinct. 
The  Danes,  the  Swedes,  the  Norwegians,  and  the  Icelanders,  all  come 
under  the  name  of  the  Northmen  or  Norsemen.  Their  literature  has 
been  compared,  in  extent,  to  the  literary  remains  of  Greece,  and 
Latinum.  This  opens  a  new  fountain  of  research  where  the  scholar 
may  often 

"  Return  and  linger,  linger  and  return."      \ 

This  great  work  contains  two  Icelandic  documents,  now  for  the 
first  time  published  accurately,  in  a  complete  form,  purporting  to  be 
histories  written  by  or  for  persons  who  discovered  and  visited  the 
North  American  coast  early  in  the  eleventh  century,  confirmed  and 
illustrated  by  extracts  from  no  less  than  fifteen  other  original  manu- 

*In  a  paper  read  lately  before  the  N.  Y.  Historical  Society,  it  seems  that  the  inscription  on  a  stone 
found  in  Western  Va.,  is  like  that  discovered  on  a  monument  ofThugga,  at  Libya.  This  circum 
stance  corroborates  the  truth  of  the  report  of  the  Carthagenians,  that  their  people,  in  early  times, 
traded  with  nations  west  of  the  Atlantic. 


14  A  LECTURE  ON  THE 

scripts,  in  which  the  facts  set  forth  in  these  histories  are  either  men 
tioned  or  alluded  to.  The  Royal  Society  has  already  collected  two 
thousand  Sagas,  or  works  of  Scandinavian  or  Icelandic  history.  *#<&* 
In  this  work,  in  particular,  is  found  Adam  of  Bremen's  account  of 
the  discovery  of  America,  communicated  to  him  in  the  eleventh  cen 
tury,  by  Sweyn  Estrythson,  King  of  Denmark. 

1.  Are  these  documents  genuine  ? 

2.  If  so,  why  have  they  not  been  heard  of  before  ? 

The  work  itself  contains  evidences  of  the  antiquity  and  authenticity 
of  the  manuscripts,  from  which  the  publication  has  been  made,  sufficient 
to  raise  them  above  any  just  suspicion. 

These  documents,  as  Professor  Rafn  says,  have  been  known  to 
Icelandic  scholars ;  but  these  have  been  so  few  comparatively,  and 
the  means  of  those  few  so  limited,  that  they  have  not  been  able  to 
give  them  a  suitable  examination,  much  less  to  be  at  the  expense  of 
publishing  them. 

How  long  did  the  ancient  classics,  for  instance,  lay  concealed  in  the 
monasteries  of  Europe,  for  the  want  of  some  one  to  exhibit  them  to 
the  public  view  ?  These  Icelandic  documents  may  have  been  hid  in 
like  manner,  in  the  libraries  of  priests.  And  we  may  say  that  the 
society  of  antiquarians,  in  Copenhagen,  in  bringing  these  documents 
to  light,  resembles  the  conduct  of  the  poet  laureat,  Petrarch,  in  the 
fourteenth  century,  who,  at  his  own  expense,  had  the  valuable  manu 
scripts  of  antiquity  dragged  from  the  dust  of  the  cloisters,  transcribed 
and  exhibited  to  the  world. 

Who  does  not  admire  the  lovely  scenery,  where  the  beautiful  and 
sublime  are  blended,  displayed  in  the  succession  of  falls  at  Trenton, 
N.  Y.  ?  Yet  these  were  concealed  for  ages,  till  a  master  spirit  re 
vealed  them  to  an  admiring  world.  And  does  not  the  raven  wing  of 
night  hide  the  works  of  art,  also,  till  disclosed  in  a  similar  way  ? 
The  learned  of  Iceland,  though  like  the  generality  of  poets,  poor :  yet 
they  were  not  disposed,  like  Milton,  to  sell  their  manuscripts  for  a 
paltry  sum. 

It  is  well  known  the  Norwegians  have  long  claimed  the  honor  of 
discovering  and  colonizing  America  before  the  time  of  Columbus. 

Instead  of  this  discovery  being  a  new-fangled  theory,  as  some  say, 
there  have  been  several  works  published  in  Europe  upwards  of  a  cen 
tury,  which  speak  of  these  facts.  Wormius  speaks  of  this  discovery 
in  a  Latin  translation,  published  in  the  University  of  Oxford,  in  or 
about  1716.  In  Adam  of  Bremen's  account,  published  1629,  he  uses 
the  following  striking  language :  "  Non  fabulosa  opinione  sed  certa, 
relatione  Danorum  ;"  that  is,  in  a  free  translation,  "  This  is  not  a  fab 
ulous  opinion,  but  a  true  narrative  given  by  the  Danes  themselves." 
Dr.  Franklin,  in  a  letter  to  a  distinguished  antiquary  formerly  of 
Switzerland,  says  positively,  that  the  Danes  came  into  New  England 
before  the  time  of  Columbus.  Dr.  Mather  published  an  account,  also, 
of  the  discovery  in  1772. 


DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA.  15 

The  celebrated  Dr.  Henderson,  who  traveled  in  Iceland,  says  that 
the  fact  of  this  early  discovery  was  well  known  to  the  Icelanders — 
that  it  was  authenticated  by  Northern  historians.  It  is  a  remarkable 
fact,  that  Iceland,  where  these  documents  relating  to  the  early  dis 
covery  were  preserved,  was  the  Athens  of  the  North,  during  the  Dark 
Ages. 

During  the  Middle  Ages,  the  Icelanders  were  the  most  intelligent 
people  in  the  North.  Even  now,  as  Henderson  says,  youth  can  repeat 
passages  from  Latin  and  Greek  authors,  who  have  never  been  but  a 
few  miles  from  the  place  of  their  birth.  Truly,  the  hardy  Icelanders 
were  our  librarians  and  historians. 

Iceland  appears  to  have  been  a  medium  of  communication  between 
Norway  and  Greenland — a  stepping  stone,  as  it  were,  from  one  conti 
nent  to  another. 

Iceland,  thought  by  some  to  be  the  "  Ultima  Thule"  of  Virgil,  was 
discovered  by  the  Norwegians  in  861.  The  oppression  of  King  Har 
old  Harfaga  drove  them  there  for  an  asylum. 

But  the  restless  spirit  of  the  Northmen  would  not  allow  them  to  be 
idle.  They  made  incursions  in  every  direction,  and  discovered  Green 
land  in  984. 

In  986,  a  colony  was  begun  by  Eric  the  Red.  This  was  at  length 
destroyed.  By  the  exertions  of  the  Danish  Society,  the  ruins  of  this 
settlement  have  been  discovered.  It  was  located  on  the  West,  near 
Cape  Farwell.  It  is  seen  in  the  remains  of  churches  and  buildings. 

Lief,  the  son  of  Eric,  commenced  a  voyage  of  discovery  in  the  year 
1000.  His  crew  consisted  of  thirty-five  men.  Lief  was  the  first  to 
introduce  missionaries  into  Greenland. 

After  sailing  some  time  southwest,  they  marie  land.  They  anchored 
and  went  ashore.  This  place  was  destitute  of  grass,  «and  was  covered 
with  a  slaty  rock,  which  they  called  Helluland.  This  is  supposed  to 
be  Labrador.  Fishermen  and  travelers  of  the  present  day  give  a  like 
description  of  that  barren  region. 

From  thence  they  sailed  southwardly ;  and  after  holding  on  for 
some  time,  they  again  made  land  and  went  ashore.  This  country 
was  level,  had  a  low  coast,  presenting,  here  and  there,  bluffs  of  white 
sand,  and  was  thickly  covered  with  wood.  This  they  named  Mark- 
land,  or  Woodland.  This  is  thought  to  be  Nova  Scotia. 

Leaving  Markland,  they  sailed  south-westerly,  with  a  fair  wind, 
two  days  before  seeing  land  again,  when  they  passed  down  a  promon 
tory,  probably  the  east  side  of  Cape  Cod,  stretching  east  and  north  ; 
and  then  turning  west  between  an  island  (Martha's  Vineyard)  and 
the  main  land,  they  entered  a  bay  (Narragansett  Bay)  through  which 
a  river  (Taunton  River)  flowed,  when  they  came  to  anchor  and  went 
ashore.  Resolving  to  spend  the  winter  here  they  called  the  place 
Leifsbuthir,  or  place  of  booths.  Here,  finding  grapes  plenty,  they 
called  the  place  Vinland  or  Wineland  the  good.  This  land,  to  those 


16  A'LECTURE  ON  THE 

coming  from  the  remote  North,  appeared  as  nature  in  the  "  world's 
first  spring." 

Early  in  the  season  they  returned  to  Greenland.  Leif  s  return  be 
came  the  principal  suhject  of  conversation. 

The  next  adventurer  was  Thorwald,  his  brother.  And  you  will 
observe  that  he  and  the  other  navigators  gave  the  same  account  of 
places  they  visited.  Were  not  this  the  case,  who  could  believe  any  of 
their  reports  ? 

Thorwold,  thinking  the  country  had  not  been  sufficiently  explored, 
set  sail  in  1002,  and  proceeded  to  Leifsbuthir,  where  he  lived  till 
1004 

In  the  spring  of  1004,  he  sailed  from  Leifsbuthir.  After  passing 
along  the  shore  of  the  promontory.  East  and  North,  they  sailed  round 
a  sharp  point  of  land,  called  Kjarlanes.  This  must  have  been  Cape 
Cod.  Kjarlanes  implies  Keel-cape.  For  Cape  Cod  at  the  extremity, 
is  in  the  shape  of  the  keel  of  ancient  vessels,  which  curved  inward. 

These  Northmen  were  peaceable  men.  They  were  not  like  Phaeton, 
who  would  gladly  have  seized  the  reins  of  the  chariot  of  the  sun  to 
set  the  world  on  fire.  It  must  not  be  denied,  however,  that  the  second 
great  navigator,  Thorwold,  assailed  the  natives  without  a  cause ;  but 
in  using  the  sword  he  perished  by  the  sword.  On  receiving  a  mortal 
wound,  he  requested  that  after  his  death,  crosses  might  be  placed  at 
either  end  of  his  grave. 

The  Catholic  ministers  in  giving  an  account  of  their  first  mission 
ary  labors  in  this  country,  speak  of  the  custom  of  the  natives  in  wear 
ing  crosses.  Such  must  have  been  introduced  by  the  Northmen 
Christians. 

I  mentioned  this  circumstance  lately  to  the  librarian  of  the  Amer 
ican  Antiquarian  Society,  Worcester ;  and  he  said  that  a  cross  had 
been  sent  to  that  institution  by  a  gentleman  of  Ohio.  I  saw  this 
emblem  of  the  Christian  faith.  It  must  have  been  hid  from  the  light 
of  heaven  for  centuries.  This  silver  cross  is  about  two  and  a  half 
inches  long.  It  was  found  on  the  breast  of  a  female  skeleton,  one  of 
which  was  dug  from  a  mound  at  Columbus,  over  which  a  forest  of 
trees  had  grown.  On  this  cross  the  capital  letters  I.  S.  are  perfectly 
visible.  And  what  can  these  letters  imply,  but  the  initials  of  the  sa 
cred  name,  IESUS  SALVATOR  ? 

Who  can  doubt,  then,  that  the  "  Sun  of  Righteousness"  cast  his 
bright  beams  on  the  land  west  of  the  dread  Atlantic,  long  before  the 
time  of  Columbus. 

In  1006,  Thorfins,  or  Thorfin  commanded  one  of  the  three  ships 
that  came  from  Iceland  to  Greenland.  He  was  of  royal  lineage. 

In  the  spring  of  1007,  Thorfin,  with  three  ships  and  one  hundred 
and  sixty  men,  besides  cattle  and  all  necessary  materials  for  establish 
ing  a  colony,  set  sail  for  Vinland. 

They  sailed  to  Helluland  or  Labrador;  from  thence  to  Markland 
or  Nova  Scotia  :  and  from  thence  to  Kjarlanes,  or  Cape  Cod.  Sail-^ 


DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA.  17 

ing  soutn  by  the  east  side  of  the  promontory  which  terminated  at 
Kjarlanes,  they  passed  along  beaches  or  trackless  deserts  of  sand.~ 
How  descriptive  of  this  bleak  and  sterile  coast ! 

Those  who  have  sailed  from  Boston  to  Narragansett  Bay,  are  ready 
to  say  that  I  am  not  drawing  an  ideal  picture. 

Continuing  their  course  they  arrived  at  an  island.  They  called  it 
Shaumey.  This  is  supposed  to  be  Martha's  Vineyard.  Nine  men 
went  away  in  one  of  the  ships  and  never  returned.  It  is  said  they 
jrere  driven  on  the  coast  of  Ireland,  where  they  were  seized  as  slaves. 
In  the  spring  Thorfin  and  one  hundred  and  fifty  others  went  to  the 
main  land.  They  called  the  place  Hop,  the  residence  afterwards  of 
King  Philip.  Here  they  found  large  numbers  of  skrellings  or  na 
tives.  Thorfin  carried  on  a  traffic  with  them,  by  exchanging  bits  of 
colored  cloth  for  furs.  In  consequence  of  their  frequent  attacks,  in 
1 009  they  returned  to  Greenland.  Then,  it  will  be  recollected,  the 
Northmen  had  not  the  use  of  fire-arms  with  which  io  defend  them 
selves  against  the  assaults  of  the  savages.  These  lords  of  the  wilds 
had  a  rude  kind  of  engine, -by  which  they  hurled  large  stones  against 
their  foes ;  and  it  is  possible  that  the  white  man  would  never  have 
driven  the  red  man  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Rocky  mountains,  but 
for  the  invention  of  gunpowder. 

I  cannot  forbear  to  speak  of  the  valor  of  one  of  this  crew  of  the 
Northmen,  a  female.  When  all  the  rest  were  disposed  to  flee  before 
the  savage  foe,  she  exclaimed :  "  If  I  only  had  a  weapon,  I  ween  I 
could  fight  better  than  any  of  you.'7  "  Ah  !  when  we  consider  the  pa 
triotism  of  the  females  at  the  seige  of  Carthage,  who  cut  their  locks 
to  make  ropes  for  engines  of  war  :  and  when  we  recollect  the  courage 
of  Isabella  of  Castile,  who,  at  the  conquest  of  Grenada,  though  in  ill 
health,  led  on  her  veterans  to  conquest  and  glory,  have  we  not  reason 
to  suppose  that  this  Scandinavian  was  sincere  in  her  declaration  ? 
Truly  valor  and  benevolence  are  but  parallel  streams  in  the  female 
heart.  We  would  not  applaud  courage,  however,  unless  under  the 
control  of  a  high  and  holy  principle. 

^  Thorfin  married  Cudrida,  the  widow  of  Thorstein,  third  son  of 
Erric.  She  accompanied  her  husband  to  Vinland.  Snorre,  their  son, 
was  the  n>st  white  child  born  in  America.  From  him  descended  the 
distinguished  associate  of  Professor  Rafn,  Finn  Magnusen.  The 
late  great  sculptor,  Thorwalsden  of  Denmark,  was  of  this  family. — 
Bishop  Thulock  Rudolfson,  was  a  descendant  of  ThornVs,  and  it  is 
supposed  that  he  wrote  or  compiled  these  documents. 

Thorfin.  the  most  distinguished  of  these,  returned  to  Iceland,  where 
he  ended  his  days,  living  in  great  splendor. 

The  editor  of  the  American  Antiquities,  Professor  Rafn,  and  his 
associate,  Professor  Finn  Magnusen,  think  that  Vinland  was  situated 
in  the  east  part  of  Rhode  Island,  and  in  the  south  part  of  Massachu 
setts,  on  or  about  Narragansett  Bay  and  Taunton  River. 

The  points  in  the  Icelandic  documents  alluding  to  the  locality  of 


IS  A  LKUTURK  ON  THE 

Viulaiul  may  be  reckoned  the  Geography,  Natural  History,  Astrono 
mical  Phenomena,  and  vestiges  of  the  Residence  of  Northmen  in  that 
place.  All  these,  in  the  opinion  of  the  editor  of  the  American  antiqui 
ties,  point  to  the  head  of  Narragansett  Bay,  or  Mt.  Hope  Bay,  as  the 
locality  of  Hop,  the  central  part  of  Vinland. 

As  the  Royal  Society  have  held  correspondence  with  several  learned 
societies  in  this  country  for  some  years,  they  are  well  qualified  to  form 
a  judgment  on  this  subject.  Dr.  Webb,  now  of  Boston,  formerly  Sec 
retary  of  the  Rhode  Island  Historical  Society,  and  J.  R.  Bartlett. 
Es-.j.,  of  New- York,  have  been  very  efficient  agents  in  aiding  the  Royal 
Society  in  presenting  this  great  work  to  the  world. 

The  following  letter  from  the  late  General  Holstein,  Professor  in 
the  "  Albany  Female  Academy,''  will  show  the  care  taken  to  acquire 
information  relative  to  American  Antiquities: 

"  In  proof  of  the  great  exertions  made  by  the  Northern  Antiquarian 
Society,  in  Copenhagen,  to  acquire  a  knowledge  of  Scandinavian  An 
tiquities  in  America,  I  hereby  state  that,  several  years  since  a  letter 
of  inquiry,  sealed  with  the  seal  of  the  Society,  was  sent  to  a  profes 
sional  gentleman  of  Geneva,  in  this  State,  a  translation  of  which  1 
made  from  the  Danish  tongue." 

T/ia  Geography  of  Vinland. — Concerning  the  situation  of  Hel- 
lulancl  there  can  be  no  doubt,  as  it  was  the  iirst  land  southwest  of 
Greenland :  where  else  could  this  have  been,  unless  the  coast  of  La 
brador  ? 

Markland  was  situated  southwest  from  Helluland,  three  days'  sail, 
or  three  hundred  and  sixty  English  miles.  This  is  supposed  to  be 
Nova  Scotia, 

The  distance  of  Nova  Scotia-  and  New  Brunswick  agrees  with  the 
account  the  Icelanders  gave  of  Markland. 

Vinland  was  situated  two  days'  sail,  or  about  two  hundred  and  forty 
Bnglish  miles  to  the  southwest  of  Markland :  and  if  Markland  has 
been  properly  located,  must  be  sought  in  or  near  the  south  part  of 
Massachusetts. 

In  the  Icelandic  documents,  it  is  said  that  Hop.  the  residence  of 
Thortin.  was  situated  on  an  elevation  of  land,  near  a  river  which 
flowed  south,  through  a  bay  into  the  ocean.  From  this  the  land 
stretched  east ;  and  turning  north,  formed  a  promontory,  which  ter 
minated  in  a  point  or  cape,  which  they  called  Kjarlanes.  The 
east  side  of  ih?  promontory  was  found  by  long,  narrow  beaches, 
(r  sand  hills.  To  those  who,  like  myself,  have  often  viewed  the 
Atlantic  from  these  sand  hills,  this  account  appears  peculiarly 
striking. 

Natural  History  of  Vhtlaiid. — Vinland  was  remarkable  for  its 
beautiful  vines,  maple  trees,  maize,  and  a  great  variety  of  wild  animals. 


DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA.  19 

The  waters  abounded  with  fish  and  were  occasionally  visited  by 
whales.  Birds  were  numerous.  The  eider  duck  was  seen  about  the 
islands  in  large  numbers. 

As  to  vines,  they  are  said  to  be  numerous  even  now ;  and  this  is 
more  particularly  true  of  the  country  around  Narragansett  Bay.  And 
was  not  an  island  called  Martha's  Vineyard,  on  account  of  the  multi 
plicity  of  vines  growing  there? 

The  celebrated  Bishop  Berkeley,  who  attempted  to  establish  a  the 
ological  seminary  in  Rhode  Island,  says,  in  his  letter  to  his  friends  in 
Europe,  that  vines  were  as  plenty  on  the  island  as  in  Italy.  Gosnald, 
who  visited  the  Elizabeth  Isles  in  1602,  says,  that  vines  were  in  great 
profusion  there. 

In  the  documents  it  is  said  that,  in  that  region,  are  the  red,  sugar 
and  bird's-eye  maple.  The  Northmen  cut  down  the  trees;  and,  after 
they  were  dry,  they  loaded  their  ships  with  the  timber.  It  is  supposed 
that  the  bird's-eye  variety  was  made  an  article  of  commerce. 

As  to  Indian  corn  or  maize,  it  seems  our  pilgrim  fathers  found  some 
in  what  is  now  called  Truro,  near  the  end  of  the  Cape.  It  was  buried 
in  the  earth  to  preserve  it.  Indian  corn  has  never  been  found  north 
of  45°  north  latitude. 

It  is  needless  to  remind  the  reader  of  the  multiplicity  of  fish  that 
still  abound  in  the  waters  of  this  region.  The  sportsman  may,  at  this 
day,  tell  his  friends,  in  the  language  of  Capt.  Smith,  of  Jamestown, 
who  described  this  quarter, "  of  the  pleasures  to  be  derived  from  angling 
and  crossing  the  sweet  air,  from  isle  to  isle,  over  the  silent  streams  of 
a  calm  sea.'' 

As  to  whales,  I  have  occasionally  seen  them  spouting  around  the 
sandy  shores  of  the  Cape. 

In  regard  to  the  eider  duck,  in  the  Latin  translation  it  is  called 
"  anas  mollissima,"  a  duck  with  the  finest  feathers.  The  real  eider 
duck  of  Iceland  is,  at  this  day,  frequently  seen  around  Martha's  Vine- 
yard.  Wild  fowl  must  have  been  numerous  there,  as  an  island  is  still 
called  Egg  Island,  from  the  quantity  of  eggs  they  deposited.* 

Thorfiii  describes  the  Soil  and  Climate. — The  winters  of  Vinland 
are  said  to  be  remarkably  mild,  but  little  snow  falling,  and  cattle  sub 
sisting  out  of  doors  through  the  winter. 

This  account  does  not  agree  with  the  description  of  New  England 
winters  at  this  time.  Still,  however,  it  has  been  the  practice  of  the 
farmers  on  Nan  tucket  and  Martha's  Vineyard,  to  let  their  sheep  and 
cattle  lie  out  during  the  winter.  But  the  cold  winters  of  New  Eng 
land,  compared  with  those  of  Greenland,  are  as  the  mildness  of  spring. 
They  speak,  however,  of  a  snowy  winter. 

But  there  have  been  great  changes  in  the  face  of  the  earth  and 
in  the  climate  in  different  ages.  Change  is  the  law  of  nature.  Has 

*Mr.  Audubon  says  he  has  seen,  in  Labrador,  twenty-seven  nests  of  the  eider  duck  within  a  very 
small  compass 


20  A  LECTURE  ON  THE 

not  one  of  the  bright  clusters  been  blotted  out  from  the  map  of  heav 
en  ?  Such  changes  also  take  place  in  the  face  of  the  earth. 

The  Dead  Sea  was,  in  early  times,  sixty  miles  long.  It  is  now  only 
thirty.  And  even  old  Ontario  and  Erie  have  receded  from  their  for 
mer  bounds,  leaving  to  the  present  generation  a  rich  tract  of  land  sev 
eral  miles  wide,  and  a  beautiful  ridge-road.  Who  does  not  admire  the 
everlasting  rocks,  rising  in  stern  grandeur  on  either  side  the  Mohawk, 
at  the  Little  Falls,  N.  Y.  ?  Yet,  the  lovely  vale  above  must  once 
have  been  the  bed  of  a  vast  lake.  This  is  manifest  from  the  fact,  that 
there  are  "  pot  holes  "  found  at  an  elevation  of  sixty  feet  above  the 
river,  at  these  falls. 

These  circular  excavations  were  made  ages  since,  by  the  circumvo* 
lution  of  stones,  driven  by  the  rapid  descent  of  the  waters.  You  can 
see  a  demonstration  of  this  fact,  by  looking  at  the  high  falls  of  Black 
River,  or  Trenton. 

And  what  a  mighty  labor  was  that  for  the  waters  of  this  lake  to 
have  found  their  way,  gradually,  through  the  high  and  continuous 
wall  of  granite  where  now  the  Mohawk  murmurs  as  it  rolls  along  its 
new  channel ! 

Geological  facts  prove  that  it  was  much  warmer,  formerly,  in  the 
North,  than  it  is  now. 

Large  forests  once  flourished  in  Lapland. 

It  is  not  to  be  disputed  that,  in  former  ages,  Iceland  produced  tim 
ber  in  abundance.  Large  trees  are  occasionally  found  there  in  the 
marshes  and  valleys,  to  a  considerable  depth  in  the  ground.  Seg 
ments  of  fossil- trees  have  lately  been  exported,  in  proof  of  the  alleged 
fact. 

It  is  asserted  in  the  ancient  Icelandic  records,  that  when  Ingulf,  the 
Norwegian,  first  landed  in  Iceland,  879,  he  found  so  thick  a  cluster  of 
birch  trees,  that  he  penetrated  them  with  difficulty. 

Henderson,  in  his  travels  in  Iceland,  says  that  the  climate  has  de 
teriorated  there,  from  the  fact  that  it  was  once  shaded  with  forests. 

When  the  first  Norwegian  colony  settled  in  Greenland,  about  1000 
years  ago,  they  found  no  difficulty  from  ice  in  approaching  the  coast, 
and  a  regular  correspondence  was  supported  by  their  people  for  many 
years. 

Astronomical  Phenomena. — The  learned  editor  and  his  associate 
deduce  from  the  astronomical  data,  lat.  41°  24'  16",  which  is  the 
latitude  of  Narragansett  Bay,  and  Mount  Hope.  There,  at  the  win 
ter  solstice,  December  22,  the  day  is  nine  hours. 

That  the  Northmen  were  capable  of  taking  latitudes,  is  evident  from 
the  circumstance,  that  at  that  period  they  speak  of  eclipses,  which 
have  lately  been  calculated  by  Sir  David  Brewster,  and  the  distin 
guished  Norgewian  astronomer,  Hanstein,  and  found  correct. 
»*  I  have  a  fine  diagram,  in  a  work  just  sent  me  by  Professor  Rafn, 
Denmark,  by  which  it  is  seen  that  the  Northmen  calculated  time  ac- 


DISCOVERY   OF   AMERICA  21 

curately.     They  reached  the  latitude  where,  at  the  winter  solstice,  the 
sun  rose  at  half  past  seven,  and  set  at  half  past  four. 

Little  can  be  said  of  the  Vestiges  of  the  Residence  of  the  North 
men  in  this  country. — There  is  a  large  rock  at  the  junction  of  Smith's 
Creek  with  Taunton  River,  with  a  singular  inscription  on  it.  It  was 
evidently  made  with  an  iron  instrument.  Passing  over  the  particular 
remarks  of  the  editor  on  these  letters,  I  would  give  his  supposition  as 
to  their  meaning. 


rxxxi 

fORFINX 


The  first  figure,  first  line,  is  120  ;  the  last  figure,  on  first  line,  is 
nam.  and  means  "  took  possession  of ;"  the  first  figure  on  the  second 
line  is  wanting,  and  it  is  supposed  it  was  made  as  abowe  for  TH.  So  the 
whole  reads  : — Thorfins,  with  151  men,  took  possession  of  this  country. 
While  Mr.  Schoolcraft  believes  in  the  discovery  of  the  Northmen,  he 
thinks  this  inscription  was  left  by  the  Indians.  But  Professor  Rafn 
has  deciphered  an  inscription  on  the  Paradisic  rock  of  Iceland,  which 
he  says,  proves  beyond  a  doubt  the  European  origin  of  the  inscription 
in  Massachusetts. 

There  are  similar  inscriptions  on  rocks  in  the  vicinity  of  Mount 
Hope  Bay. 

The  people  of  the  North  of  Europe  were  fond  of  making  inscrip 
tions  on  rocks  on  the  borders  of  lakes  and  rivers  ;  for  such  are  found 
in  Norway,  Sweden,  and  Scotland. 

One  of  these  inscriptions,  found  on  a  rock  in  Sweden,  has  been  de 
ciphered  by  Professor  Finn  Magnusen.  The  inscription  relates  to  a 
battle  fought  about  A.  D.  680,  between  the  kings  of  Norway  and  Swe 
den.  Accounts  of  this  battle  were  given  by  authentic  historians.  In 
a  work  just  issued  in  Denmark,  it  is  proved  that  there  are  several 
other  inscriptions  found  in  the  neighborhood  of  Taunton  like  the  one 
above.  Also,  that  the  old  stone  building  at  Newport,  R.  I.,  was  erected 
by  the  Northmen  ;  for  it  is  exactly  like  the  stone  houses  of  Norway. 
built  as  baptisteries.  The  oldest  people  of  Rhode  Island  know  noth 
ing  of  the  origin  of  that  curiously  built  edifice. 

Ex-Gov.  Gibbs,  of  R.  I.,  owns  it,  and  believes  it  was  erected  by  the 
Northmen.  Rev.  Mr.  Kip,  of  Albany,  tells  me  he  saw  at  the  residence 
of  the  Duke  of  Tuscany,  a  Swedish  count,  who  spake  of  this  building 
as  the  work  of  the  Northmen.  He  was  perfectly  familiar  with  the 
discoveries  of  those  whom  he  proudly  called  his  people.  It  will  be 
seen,  in  viewing  a  representation  of  this  tower,  page  2,  that  it  is  of 
the  ante-Gothic  or  Norman  architecture,  which  was  adopted  in  Europe 
from  the  time  of  Charlemagne  to  the  12th  century.  Mr.  K.  also 


22  A    LECTURE    ON    THE 

saw  in  Italy  the  famous  painting  of  Leutze,  representing  the  landing 
of  the  Northmen  in  America.  This  large  painting  has  been  brought 
to  New- York,  where  I  saw  it  lately  among  other  grand  specimens  of 
living  masters. 

The  late  Noah  Webster,  Esq.,  told  me  he  examined  the  subject 
forty  years  since,  and  came  to  the  above  conclusion. 

W.  H.  Prescott,  L.  L.  D.,  advances  the  same  opinion  in  his  late 
splendid  work  on  Mexico. 

Bishop  Hawks  has  written  a  valuable  little  work  on  "  Lost  Green 
land,"  in  which  he  speaks  of  17  bishops,  who  successively  presided  in 
that  country.  The  colony  suddenly  disappeared  in  or  near  1614. — 
The  present  colony  was  established  in  17^1.  The  son  of  a  Danish 
bishop  told  me  he  lately  saw  the  Governor  of  Greenland,  an  old  school 
mate  of  his,  who  showed  him  a  book  published  in  Greenland,  giving 
an  account  of  these  discoveries.  It  had  a  rude  map  of  Cape  Cod  and 
Boston  Harbor. 


Were  the  Northmen  capable  of  making  discoveries,  and  of  recording 
them  ?  The  rude  children  of  our  forests  could  not  perform  a  work 
so  mighty. 

The  Roman  historian,  Tacitus,  spake  of  the  invasion  of  the  North 
men  before  the  Christian  era.  He  says  of  theCimbri,  that  they  were 
not  a  small  tribe,  but  mighty  in  fame :  that  the  vestiges  of  their  ancient 
glory  still  remained  in  their  fortifications  ;  that  no  other  nation  had 
so  often  given  them  cause  to  dread  their  arms — not  the  Carthageni- 
ans,  or  Spaniards,  or  Gauls. 

In  later  times  the  Northmen  made  incursions  upon  Germany, 
France,  England,  the  Orkney,  Parroe  and  Shetland  Isles. 

The  French  were  in  such  fear  of  the  Northmen,  that  they  inserted 
in  their  Liturgy,  "  A  furore  Normanorum,  libera  nos,  O  Domine."* 

In  the  ninth  and  tenth  centuries,  the  Danes  or  Northmen  invaded 
England,  and  seated  one  of  their  favorite  princes,  Canute,  on  the 
throne  of  Alfred. 

They  were  a  daring  people — the  sea  was  their  home — the  mount 
ain  wave  was  the  scene  of  their  sport — far  and  wide  did  they  wander 
without  compass  to  guide. 

Their  vessels  were  built  of  timber  that  is  now  eagerly  sought  by 
the  first  maritime  nations  of  the  earth. 

A  people,  some  of  whose  leaders  boasted  of  never  having  slept  by  a 
cottage  fire,  became  the  dread  of  Christendom.  They  ruled  the  waters 
from  the  Arctic  ocean  to  the  Azores — they  passed  between  the  pillars 
of  Hercules — they  ravaged  the  coasts  of  Spain  and  France — sacked 
the  cities  of  Tuscany — drove  the  Saracens  from  Sicily.  They  desola 
ted  the  classic  fields  of  Greece — penetrated  the  walls  of  Constantinople. 
Yes,  in  rescuing  the  Holy  Sepulchre,  they  led  the  van  of  the  chivalry 

*  From  the  rage  of  the  Northmen  good  Loid  deliver  us. 


DISCOVEKY    OF  AMERICA.  23 

of  Europe.  Mark  their  valor  and  their  success ;  for  100  Northmen 
knights,  with  one  aid  or  squire  each,  drove  ten  thousand  Saracens  from 
Sicily.  Scott  gives  a  beautiful  description  of  this  remarkable  people, 
in  speaking  of  the  Western  Isles; 

"  Thither  came  in  times  afar 
Stern  Lochlin's  sous  of  roving  war  ; 
The  Northmen,  trained  to  spoil  and  blood. 
Skilled  to  prepare  the  raven's  fond  ; 
Kings  of  the  main,  their  leaders  brave, 
Their  barks  the  dragons  of  the  wave." 

In  describing  king  Harold's  it  is  said  : 

"  And  dragon's  heads  adorn  the  prow  of  gold." 

Seest  thou  the  tiny  fleet  of  some  school-boy,  launched  on  an  isola 
ted  sheet  of  water.  And  such  were  the  greatest  armaments  of  the 
famous  nations  of  antiquity,  compared  with  those  of  the  Northmen. 

The  present  illustrious  Q,ueen  of  England,  is  a  direct  descendant 
of  the  Northmen.  It  will  be  recollected  that  Rollo,  the  Norman, 
invaded  France  in  912,  and  enthroned  himself  in  the  North.  In 
1066,  William  of  Normandy  conquered  England.  These  sovereigns 
were  Northmen,  and  from  their  family  the  pride  and  glory  of  Great 
Britain  descended. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  eleventh  century,  the  Danes  and  Nor 
wegians  were  converted  to  Christianity,  and  thereby  received  a 
new  impulse,  that  led  them  to  extend  the  blessings  of  the  Gospel. 
And  who  but  this  people  could  ever  have  established  missions  in 
Greenland. 


What  shall  we  say  of  the  ability  of  the  Northmen  to  record  inci 
dents  of  their  voyages  ? 

In  the  year  1000,  on  their  conversion  to  Christianity,  they  adopted 
the  Roman  alphabet.  This  was  their  Augustan  age.  The  thirst  of 
the  Icelanders  for  learning,  is  seen  in  the  conduct  of  Ulfijot,  their 
supreme  legislator,  who,  in  925,  undertook  a  voyage  to  Norway,  in 
his  sixtieth  year,  to  acquire  a  more  perfect  knowledge  of  the  legal 
customs  and  institutions  of  the  parent  country. 

In  Iceland  the  learned  were  called  Skalds  and  Sagamen. 

The  former  were  poets  and  historians.  Skalds  denote  "  smoothers 
and  polishers  of  language." 

The  Sagamen  recited  in  prose,  with  greater  detail,  what  the  Skalds 
had  recited  iii  verse. 

By  the  recitations  of  the  Skalds  the  real  and  traditionary  history 
of  the  country  was  transmitted  from  generation  to  generation. 

Memory  is,  perhaps,  the  most  improvable  faculty  of  our  nature. 
Deprived  of  books,  it  depends  upon'its  own  resources.  Its  strength 
is  seen  in-  the  following  instance  :  An  Icelandic  Skald  sang  sixty  dif- 


24  A    LECTURE    ON    THE 

ferent  lays  in  oue  evening,  before  King  Harold  Sigurdson  :  and  being 
asked  if  he  knew  any  more,  declared  that  these  were  only  the  half  he 
could  sing. 

Their  traditionary  histories  were  written  down  and  preserved. 

As  poetry  is  among  the  antiquities  of  all  nations,  the  events  it 
records  have  ever  been  preserved  by  the  recitations  of  Skalds,  Min 
strels  or  Bards. 

And  whom  does  the  conqueror  of  Wales  cut  off  from  the  land  ? 
Does  not  Edward  the  First  of  England  destroy  the  minstrels  of 
Wales,  lest  they  should,  by  their  recitations,  awaken  that  spirit  of 
liberty  in  the  breasts  of  the  vanquished,  which  would  lead  them  to 
throw  off  the  yoke  of  the  British  monarch  ? 

These  Skalds  were  distinguished  men — the  companions  of  kings. 
They  sometimes  were  kings,  as  in  the  instance  of  Regnar  Lodbrok. 

The  Sagamen  made  their  recitations  in  public  and  private,  at  con 
venient  opportunities. 

If  Augustus  delighted  to  have  Yirgil  and  Horace  on  either  hand, 
so  the  Scandinavian  monarchs  rejoiced  to  have  Skalds  and  Sagamen 
in  their  presence. 

At  solemn  feasts,  the  services  of  these  men  were  required. 

Sasmund.  in  1056,  collected  the  different  poems  relating  to  the  my 
thology  and  history  of  the  North.  The  collection  was  called  the 
"  Poetic  Edda."  He  was  a  man  of  learning,  having  been  educated  at 
the  Universities  of  Germany  and  France. 

He  performed  for  the  ancient  poems  the  same  office  which  is  said 
to  have  been  done  by  the  ancient  Greek  rhapsodist  who  first  collected 
and  arranged  the  songs  of  his  predecessors,  and  reduced  them  to  one 
continuous  poem,  called  Homer's  Iliad. 

Snorre  Sturlson,  judge  of  Iceland,  was  the  most  distinguished 
scholar  of  his  day.  His  principal  work  was  the  Prosiac  Edda  ?  It 
treats  in  particular  of  Scandinavian  mythology.  He  lived  in  1178. 
His  bath  still  attracts  the  attention  of  the  traveler.  The  aqueduct 
of  it  is  live  hundred  feet  long,  and  is  composed  of  hewn  stone,  finely 
united  by  cement.  The  reservoir  is  similarly  constructed,  and  will 
contain  thirty  persons.  The  water  was  supplied  from  one  of  their 
warm  springs. 

The  general  characteristics  of  the  Icelandic  tongue  are  copiousness, 
energy  and  flexibility  to  an  extent  that  rivals  every  modern  language 
and  which  enables  it  to  enter  into  successful  competition  with  the 
Greek  and  Latin. 

^  Were  not  the  Icelanders  then  capable  of  recording  the  events  in 
cident  to  a  voyage  of  discovery. 

The  internal  evidences  found  in  these  documents  are  in  favor  of 
their  authenticity. 

Besides  there  are  in  existence  a  series  of  works  from  the  time 
when  these  voyages  purport  to  have  been  made,  down  to  the  present 


DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 


25 


time,  whicji  nave  been  preserved,  and  which  make  mention  of  these 
discoveries. 

Distinguished  men  who  have  had  superior  opportunities  of  ascer 
taining  the  merits  of  this  question,  have  come  to  the  conclusion  that 
the  descendants  of  the  Scandinavians  were  the  discoverers  of  Amer 
ica,  prior  to  the  time  of  Columbus.  Among  these  are  Dr.  Forster, 
Mr.  Wheaton,  our  late  Minister  at  the  Court  of  Berlin,  and  Baron 
Von  Humboldt,  also  of  the  above  city.* 

Besides  Adam  of  Bremen's  account  of  the  discovery  of  America,  this 
•great  work  speaks  of  Bishop  Eric's  voyage  to  Vinland,  in  1121.  Al 
though  Thorfin's  men  were  driven  away  at  first  by  the  natives,  yet  it 
is  reasonable  to  suppose,  that  the*y  at  length  returned  and  formed  col 
onies  in  this  quarter,  together  with  others  who  visited  America,  as 
named  in  the  Icelandic  MSS. 

If  voyages  were  made,  from  time  to  time,  to  different  parts  of 
America,  by  the  Northmen,  is  it  not  reasonable  to  suppose  that  some 
parts  of  our  country  were  inhabited  by  them  for  a  long  time,  and  that 
Bishop  Eric  visited  Vinland  to  perform  Episcopal  duties,  and  that  the 
Northmen  left  evidences  of  their  arts,  in  the  antiquities  I  will  briefly 

nam  e  ?  Bencrpf t  Lit>rarj| 

How  fond  is  man  to  linger  around  mouldering  ruins — to  fix  the 
-eye  on  the  mutilated  column  overgrown  with  ivy !  But  are  there 
not  antiquities  as  worthy  as  those  of  art  ?  I  mean  those  of  our  own 
species. 

I  shall  make  a  remark  on  a  human  skeleton  I  saw,  not  long  since. 
at  Pall  River,  in  the  vicinity  of  Narragansett  Bay. 

I  had  an  extensive  view  of  the  region  around  Mount  Hope,  lying 
on  the  west  of  Mount  Hope  Bay.  How  accurately  is  the  scenery 
portrayed  in  the  Icelandic  documents ! 

A  skeleton  was  dug  up  a  few  years  since  in  that  place.  It  had  a 
breast-plate  or  medal  hanging  down  its  neck,  thirteen  inches  long,  and 
six  in  width  at  the  top,  and  five  at  the  bottom.  It  had  also  an  or 
nament  of  fillet  work  around  its  body,  four  and  a  half  inches  wide. 
These  ornaments  are  made  of  brass,  or,  as  Dr.  Webb  says,  of  bronze.  • 
A  knowledge  of  the  use  of  this  artificial  metal  implies  a  considerable 
advance  in  the  arts. 

I  witnessed  lately  an  object  of  interest  in  the  state  of  New- York. 

Not  long  since,  a  large  oak  tree,  cut  down  at  Lyons,  was  taken  to 
Newark :  and  on  sawing  it,  there  were  found  near  the  centre  the  marks 
of  an  axe.  On  counting  the  concentric  circles,  it  was  discovered  that 
four  hundred  and  sixty  had  been  formed  since  the  cutting  was  made. 

Mna  work  sent  from  Denmark  ar«  the  following  important  remarks :— Alexander  Von  Hum 
boldt,  who  of  all  modern  travelers  has  thrown  the  greatest  light  on  the  physical  cirrumstances,  first 
discover^'  and  early  history  of  America,  has  admitted  that  tho  Scandinavian  Northmen  were  the  trur 
original  discoverers  of  the  New  \Vor'd.  He  has  also  remarked,  that  the  information  which  the  public 
as  yet  possesses  of  that  remarkable  epoch  in  the  Middle  Ages,  is  extremely  scanty  ;  and  he  lias 
expressed  a  wish  that  the  Northern  Literati  would  collect  and  publish  all  the  accounts  relating  to 
that  subject.'' 

The  Society  of  Northern  Antiquarians  has  complied  with  his  request,  in  publishing  the  great  xvor 
f. before  mentioned. 


26  A  LECTURE  ON  THE 

It  is  well  known  that  a  circle  is  the  growth  of  a  year.  But  the  most 
striking  circumstance  is,  that  this  large  cavity,  now  visible,  was  made 
by  an  edged  tool.  The  rude  stone  axes  of  the  present  race  of  Indians 
could  never  have  made  clefts  so  smooth  as  those  I  saw  in  the  block  at 
the  hotel  of  Gen.  Barney,  at  Newark.  I  have  a  report  of  a  Historical 
Society  in  Ohio,  describing  a  similar  cutting  made  with  a  metallic  axe 
about  three  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago. 

On  further  examination,  I  presume  this  skeleton,  whose  head  is  dif 
ferent  from  that  of  the  natives,  was  a  Northman ;  and  that  the  cut 
tings  in  this  tree  were  made  by  axes  wielded  by  the  descendants  of  the 
Northmen.  For  I  find  that  the  Icelandic  MSS.  speak  of  breast-plates 
worn  by  the  Northmen :  and  as  to  their  axes,  it  is  stated  that  the  na 
tives  tried  them  on  wood,  and  afterwards  on  stone ;  but  the  instruments 
used  by  the  former  to  cut  down  maple  trees,  could  not  withstand  the 
use  made  of  them  by  the  latter,  upon  stone.  If  it  be  asked,  what  has 
become  of  the  Northmen,  and  where  are  their  descendants  ?  we  an 
swer  :  Like  the  mighty  master-builders  of  the  splendid  cities  of  Cen 
tral  America,  and  of  the  fortifications,  mounds,  &c.,  of  the  United 
States,  they  have  passed  into  oblivion.  Nations  seem  to  vanish  in  a 
day : — like  the  300,000  inhabitants  of  Moscow,  who  left  the  city  in 
stantly  on  the  approach  of  the  mad  Corsican. 

There  have  been  discovered  beyond  latitude  60°,  in  Greenland, 
upwards  of  500  people,  resembling  those  in  the  north  of  Europe,  prob 
ably  descendants  of  the  Northmen. 


An  important  inquiry  arises  :  Was  Columbus  aware  of  the  discov 
ery  of  the  Northmen  ?  From  a  letter  preserved  by  his  son,  it  appears 
he  visited  Iceland  in  1477.  It  is  thought  by  the  Danes  that  he  there 
obtained  a  knowledge  of  the  discovery  of  Vinland.  Allowing  this  to 
be  the  case,  it  is  singular  he  should  never  have  given  any  intimation, 
of  such  knowledge. 

Instead  of  walking  through  Spain,  leading  his  son  by  the  hand, 
would  he  not  at  once  have  rushed  into  the  presence  of  the  sovereigns, 
and  acquired  patronage,  wealth,  and  honor,  by  telling  them  that  the 
obscure  Icelanders  had  discovered  the  region  he  wished  to  unfold  ? 

His  greatest  enemies  never  accused  him  of  having  reached  the  New 
World  by  information  received  from  Iceland. 

But  as  Columbus  was  rather  artful,  he  might,  from  particular 
motives,  have  concealed  this  knowledge  from  the  observation  of  man 
kind. 

After  all,  let  not  the  circumstance  of  this  prior  discovery,  cause,  in 
our  view,  the  laurels  given  to  Columbus  to  wither  on  his  brow.  Let 
us  ever  honor  him  for  his  perseverance' and  his  virtues. 

Let  not  Leif  and  his  associate  Northmen  deprive  him  of  what  the 
voice  of  nations  has  awarded,  the  merit  of  having  given,  not  to  Fer 
dinand  and  Isabella  only,  but  to  successive  generations,  a  New  World. 


DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA.  27 

Iceland,  though  but  a  speck  on  the  bosom  of  the  Northern  OceaD,. 
is  not  unworthy  our  notice.  Though  dark  to  the  superficial  obser 
ver,  yet  it  shines  with  a  lustre  brighter  than  the  flame  rising  from  its 
volcano.  It  is  the  light  of  knowledge.  That  obscure  island  is  re 
markable  for  the  attention  paid  to  learning.  Even  many  among  the 
common  class  pursue  the  higher  branches  of  study.  Their  long 
nights  are  enlivened  by  the  custom  of  every  member  of  the  family 
gathering  around  the  bright  lamp,  while  one  reads  for  the  amusenent 
and  instruction  of  all. 

The  sources  of  happiness  are  not,  like  those  of  mighty  rivers,  hid 
from  the  view  of  most  people.  They  are  accessible  to  all.  The  Ice 
landers,  living  in  a  remote  island,  and  cut  off  from  the  privileges  that 
milder  climates  present,  arc  naturally  led  to  look  for  happiness  in  the 
pursuit  of  knowledge. 

If  the  celebrated  Pliny  could  say  his  books  were  sovereign  consol 
ers  of  sorrow,  cannot  the  Icelander  also  declare  that  when  mountain 
waves  lash  the  shores,  he  can  find  pleasure  in  the  pursuit  of  those  stu 
dies  that  mend  the  heart  and  enlighten  the  mind  ?  Ah !  yes,  fondness 
for  books  will  create  an  artificial  summer  in  the  depths  of  the  most 
gloomy  season. 

The  sunny  Italy  may  boast  of  the  beauteous  tints  that  flush  her 
skies ;  but  after  all,  her  effeminate  inhabitants  may  be  destitute  of 
that  happiness  enjoyed  by  those  who  live  where  winter  reigns  uncon 
trolled  most  of  the  year. 

The  benevolence  of  Deity  is  seen  in  the  contentedness  felt  by  those 
who  live  in  the  higher  latitudes,  where,  as  a  writer  said  of  countries 
north  of  the  Alps,  Nature  seems  to  have  acted  the  part  of  step 
mother. 

What  a  contrast  between  the  condition  of  the  Icelanders  and  that 
of  their  forefathers !  They  were  the  worshippers  of  the  god  Wodin. 
And  what  were  his  attributes  !  He  was  styled  the  Father  of  Carnage ! 
His  greatest  favorites  were  such  as  destroyed  most  of  their  fellow- 
creatures  in  the  field  of  battle. 

But  the  Prince  of  Peace  has  broken  the  sceptre  of  the  Father  of 
Carnage.  The  benign  influence  of  his  Gospel  is  seen  in  all  the  de 
partments  of  Government.  Observe  its  effects  as  seen  in  the  differ 
ence  between  the  feelings  of  Lodbrok,  a  Northman  King  and  Skald, 
and  those  evinced  by  Peace  Makers  in  Europe  and  America  !  Those 
who,  when  storms  are  rising  in  the  political  horizon,  instead  of  "  let 
ting  slip  the  dogs  of  war,"  do  all  in  their  power  to  avert  the  threat 
ened  dangers.  Lodbrok  in  his  death-song  says  :  "  Eight  Earls  graced 
my  Dwina's  mouths.  The  crimson  sweat  of  death  poured  on  the  sul 
len  sea."  Yes,  he  exults  in  seeing  his  laurels  dyed  in  the  blood  of 
his  fellow  creatures.  But  the  lovers  of  peace  gaze  in  rapture  on  those 
of  the  Great  Pacificators  of  both  continents  while  verdant  under  a 
clear  sky. 


"SS  A  LECTURE  ON  THE    DISCOVERY  OF   AMERICA 

Who  would  not  award  to  such,  heroes  rather  than  to  Augustus 
Caesar,  a  place  among  the  stars  ?  (See  Georgica,  B.  I.  34.) 

This,  as  Cicero  said  of  Rome,  is  the  glory  of  all  lands. 

"  Wisdom  and  knowledge  are  the  stability  of  our  times.  All  classes 
bcome  sensible  that  knowledge  is  the  guardian  of  property.  In  every 
place  they  eagerly  seek  after  that  wisdom  which,  as  Isocrates  says,  is 
the  only  imperishable  treasure.  Who  can  stay  the  progress  of  knowl 
edge  ?  You  might  as  well  think  of  l  binding  the  sweet  influences  of 
Pleiades,  or  of  loosing  the  bands  of  Orion,'  "*  as  to  attempt  to  oppose 
the  march  of  mind.  To  swell  the  tide  of  improvement,  it  is  pleasing 
to  reflect  that  men  of  the  first  talents  are  engaged  ;  and  that,  through 
the  medium  of  those  lectures,  which,  if  they  are  not  the  fountains  of 
knowledge,  are  important  guides  to  them. 

A  word  in  praise  of  the  Scandinavians.  Like  the  patriarch,  they 
went  in  search  of  a  region,  they  knew  not  where.  We  praise  them 
for  their  courage,  we  applaud  them  for  their  zeal,  we  respect  them  for 
their  motives ;  for  they  were  anxious  to  enlarge  the  boundaries  of 
knowledge.  They  reached  the  wished-for  land, 

"  Where  no\r  the  western  sun 
O'er  fields  and  Hoods,  o'er  every  living  soul, 
Diffuseth  glad  repose." 

The  Scandinavians  have  opened  to  view  a  broad  region,  where  smi 
ling  Hope  invites  successive  generations  from  the  Old  World. 

Such  men  as  Caesar  or  a  Tamerlane,  conquer  but  to  devastate 
countries.  Discoveries  add  new  regions  of  fertility  and  beauty  to 
those  already  known.  And  are  not  the -hardy  adventurers,  ploughing 
the  briny  wave,  more  attractive  than  the  troops  of  Alexander  march 
ing  to  conquer  the  world,  with  plumes  waving  in  the  gentle  breeze, 
with  arms  glittering  in  the  sunbeams?  Who  can  tell  the  benefits 
the  former  confer  on  mankind? 


A  throat  of  brass  and  adamantine  lungs." 

*  As  Pleiades  appear  in  Spring,  and  Orion  in  Winter  ;  Fatrickgives  the  following  exposition  to  the 
above  passage,  from  Job,  33,  ch.  31,  v. 

"  Canst  thou  forbid  the  sweet  flowers  to  come  forth,  when  the  seven  stars  rise  in  the  Spring,  or 
open  the  earth  for  the  htjsbandjhftc's  later  when  the  winter  season  at  the  Orion,  tie?,  up  his  hands  " 


APPENDIX.  29>' 


A  P  P  E  I  1)  I  X. 


Since  the  above  was  written,  the  following  important  facts  have 
been  obtained. 

Mr.Schoolcraft  thinks,  as  stated  in  his  address  before  the  Historical 
Society.  N.  Y.,  that  the  pyramids  and 'mounds  of  America  compose  a 
form  of  architecture  equally  ancient ;  which  can  be  traced  back  to  the 
period  of  the  original  dispersion  of  mankind.  He  asks,  who  shall 
touch  the  scattered  bones  of  aboriginal  history  with  the  spear  of  truth 
and  cause  the  skeleton  of  this  ancient  society  to  arise  and  live  ? — 
There  is  no  evidence — not  a  particle — that  the  tribes  came  to  the 
continent  after  the  Christian  Era,  He  observes  also  that  there  are 
evidences  of  civilized  people  who  lived  in  Michigan  and  Indiana 
before  the  growth  of  the  forests  that  cover  these  states. 
7  Dr.  Dickeson,  of  Mississippi,  has  been  penetrating  a,  large  number 
of  mounds  in  the  south-western  states.  In  these  he  found  interesting 
relics,  such  as  mica  mirrors,  silver  and  copper  ornaments,  beads  of 
jasper,  agate,  &c.;  similar  to  those  found  in  Mexico.  Several  pearls 
of  great  beauty  and  lustre,  an  inch  in  diameter,  have  been  found.  By 
an  examination  of  skulls,  Dr.  D.  has  disL^vered  that  dentistry  had 
been  extensively  practised  by  this  ancient  people,  as  plugging  the 
teeth,  and  inserting  artificial  ones,  was  common. 

The  following  are  the  dimensions  of  one  of  the  largest  buildings  in 
Palenque : — 

Base  310  by  260  feet— 40  feet  high.  Building  280  by  180  feet— 
25  feet  high.  The  piers  have  stuccos,  finely  painted.  The  paintings 
are  like  the  frescoes  in  Italy. 

In  addition  to  the  valuable  essay  I  heard  Mr.  Squier  read  in  New 
York,  I  lately  saw  the  following  remarks  on  his  discoveries,  in  Ohio, 
from  the  New- York  Courier. 

"His  specimens  surprised  the  [Ethnological]  Society,  as  they  fur 
nish  evidence  of  a  skill  and  taste  in  sculpture,  far  surpassing  anything 
exhibited  by  the  existing  Indian  tribes.  He  found  the  figures  of 
about  100  animals,  of  different  species  in  all  the  departments  of  Zool 
ogy,  formed  with  such  accuracy,  as  to  be  readily  distinguishable,  and 
many  of  them  shaped  with  almost  perfect  accuracy,  and  finished  in 
detail,  as  if  by  superior  workmen,  showing  a  liveliness  of  expression, 
which  would  lead  to  the  conclusion  that  they  were  the  portraits  of 
birds,  beasts,  fish  and  reptiles."  • 

Mr.  S.  is  inclined  to  think  the  people  who  left  these  remains  of  an 
tiquity,  emigrated  to  Mexico. 


SO  APPENDIX. 

« 

In  regard  to  the  Northman  discovery,  the  following  from  the  Dublin 
Evening  Post,  speaks  the  opinion  of  distinguished  writers  relative  to 
the  Danish  work. 

This  is  a  very  noble,  a  very  curious,  and  in  point  of  historical  in 
terest  a  most  important  volume.  _  This  publication  has  put  the  mat 
ter  beyond  a  doubt : 

I  saw  in  the  State  Library,  at  Albany,  the  History  of  New  York, 
by  Moulton  and  Yatcs.  in  which  it  is  fully  acknowledged, 

In  the  Museum  of  Copenhagen,  Denmark,  is  to  be  seen  a  large  piece 
of  a  church  bell,  found  in  Greenland.  It  was  among  the  antiquities 
left  by  the  Northmen  who  lived  -there  before  the  days  of  Columbus. 

A  distinguished  Geologist  from  Denmark  has  lately  found  the  re 
mains  of  an  Icelandic  city  in  Brazil.  He  discovered  Punic  tnscrip- 
tions  on  flagstones.  Above  all.  he  found  a  statue  of  the  Northman 
god  of  thunder,  Thor,  with  all  his  attributes,  the  magic  girdle  and 
hammer. 

The  following  is  from  the  beautiful  ballad  of  Professor  Longfellow 
on  the  "Skeleton  in  Armor,"  found  at  Fall  River: — 

"Speak!  speak!  tbou  fearful  guest. 
Who,  with  thy  hollow  breast. 
Still  in  rudo  armor  drest, 

Comest  to  daunt  me  ! 
Wrapped  not  in  Eastern  balms, 
But  with  thy  fie.shless  palms 
Stretched  as  if  asking  alms. 

Why  dost  thou  haunt  me  ?*' 

How  true  it  is,  that  wherever  the  sunlight  falls,  there  appear  the 
temple,  the  priest  and  the  altar.  If  in  Greece  and  Rome  we  see  a 
Venus  smiling  in  marble,  or  a  Pluto  fro*vning,  for  such  were  their 
Deities,  so  in  Central  America  we  see,  apparently,  a  representation 
of  different  Gods,  as  at  Copan,  Palenque,  and  Chi  Chen.  In  Copan 
are  obelisks  bearing  on  four  sides  beautiful  hieroglyphics  and  images 
of  gods  in  basso  relievo,  while  before  such  are  altars  6  feet  square  and 
4  feet  high,  having  on  their  upper  surface,  like  characters  with  those 
on  the  stone  obelisks.  On  these  altars  it  is  supposed  human  victims 
were  offered. 

In  Palenque  different  gods  were  probably  worshiped.  Represent 
ations  of  such  are  found  on  the  walls  of  splendid  buildings.  See 
page  7. 

In  Chi  Chen  they  must  have  worshiped  "  gods  many,"  as  is  evident 
from  the  appearance  of  the  idols  brought  from  those  ruins  by  Mr. 
Norman,  and  presented  by  him  to  the  New- York  Historical  Society. 
They  are  now  to  be  seen  in  the  Museum  of  that  Society,  at  the  New- 
York  University. 

In  attending  one  of  the  meetings,  lately,  of  this  distinguished  In 
stitution,  I  heard  an  interesting  letter  read,  from  a  gentleman  who  has 
been  traveling  in  Yucatan.  He  said  much  about  the  beauty  and 


APPENDIX  .  31 

splendor  of  the  ruins,  and  thinks  many  antiquities  remain  unfolded. 
Buildings  have  lately  been  discovered  that  were  buried  by  the  na 
tives,  in  which  were  rooms  made  of  hewn  stone,  and  whose  walls  were 
adorned  with  beautiful  figures,  and  paintings  as  fresh  as  though  late 
ly  executed. 

Ah !  had  we  power  to  read  the  Monumental  History  of  Central 
America,  we  might  learn  where  once  were  forums  in  which  a  Demos 
thenes  or  a  Cicero  declaimed  against  the  wiles  and  treachery  of  a 
Philip  or  a  Cat  aline ;  where  were  groves  as  beautiful  as  that  in  which 
Plato  taught,  and  where  principles  were  promulgated,  superior  only 
but  by  those  advanced  by  Him  who  spake  as  never  man  spake.  As 
it  is,  we  can  only  behold  the  fragments  of  a  former  world. 

Although  the  explorations  of  Peru  have  not  been  as  extensive  as 
those  of  Central  America,  yet  enough  has  been  discovered  to  convince 
us  that  its  early  inhabitants  were  highly  civilized. 

The  late  travels  of  Dr.  J.  J.  Von  Tshudi  develop  some  interesting 
facts  on  this  subject. 

Magnificent  was  the  temple  of  Pacchacamac.  The  meaning  of 
this  name  of  the  principal  Deity  is,  He  who  made  the  world  out  of 
nothing.  He  was  the  God  of  the  Yuncas.  In  the  temple  were 
images  worshiped  by  the  people.  These  were  destroyed  by  the 
Incas,  who  dedicated  the  temple  to  the  worship  of  the  Sun.  Vir 
gins  of  royal  birth  were  appointed  to  minister  within  its  sacred 
walls.  In  1534,  Pizarro  took  possession  of  the  temple  and  murdered 
the  virgins. 

Alas !  while  there  Nature  unbosomed  her  every  grace  to  win  man 
to  deeds  of  mercy,  the  invaders,  in  the  name  of  Christianity,  commit 
ted  acts  at  which  humanity  shudders,  and  from  which  modesty  veils 
her  face. 

This  temple  stood  on  a  hill  upward  of  500  feet  high.  It  was  sur 
rounded  with  a  lofty  wall  that  rose  in  the  form  of  an  amphitheatre. 
The  hill  is  now  covered  with  brick. 

The  road  leading  from  Cusco  to  Quito,  and  through  rthe  empire, 
was  the  finest  in  America  :  it  was  25  or  30  feet  wide,  and  paved  with 
large  flat  stones. 

Amid  the  ruins  were  colossal  palaces,  fortresses,  and  temples.  The 
walls  of  these  buildings  were  made  of  square  stones,  so  finely  cut  that 
when  united,  a  piece  of  paper  could  not  be  put  between  them  edge 
wise.  How  stones  could  be  wrought  so  beautifully,  in  Peru  as  well 
as  farther  North,  without  the  aid  of  iron,  is  a  mystery.  Possibly  the 
inhabitants  had  the  art,  as  well  as  the  Egyptians,  of  tempering  copper 
so  as  to  cut  through  solid  granite. 

Judge  Sackett,  of  Chautauque  Co.,  New- York,  gave  me  the  follow 
ing  important  facts.  They  fully  corroborate  my  previous  statements 
in  regard  to  an  early  civilization. 

"  In  183:2,  a  white  oak  tree,  near  4  feet  in  diameter,  was  cut  on  the 
Cattaraugus  Indian  Reservation.  Eric  Co.,  New- York;  it  was  sawed 


32  APPENDIX. 

in  a  mill  I  own.  On  sawing  it,  an  axe  was  found  near  the  heart  and 
about  12  feet  from  the  ground.  It  was  overgrown  with  about  300 
circles.  Among  the  ruins  of  a  neighboring  fortification  were  found 
the  remains  of  human  skeletons  of  8  or  9  feet  in  length.  The  jaw 
bone  of  one  was  so  large  that  it  would  set  over  the  face  of  a  common 
sized  person,  and  had  36  teeth.7' 

Among  the  important  works  lately  sent  me  by  the  politeness  of 
Professor  Rafn,  Denmark,  is  a  memoir  of  Einar  Sockeson.  He  was 
son  of  a  distinguished  ruler,  who  lived  at  the  residence  of  Eric  the 
Red,  the  discoverer  of  Greenland.  At  the  father's  request,  in  1123, 
Einar  went  to  Norway  to  procure  a  Bishop.  He  obtained  Arnold,  the 
first  Bishop  of  Greenland. 

•  Among  the  specimens  of  antiquity  sent  me  from  Denmark  is  the 
representation  of  a  church,  built  by  the  Northmen  in  Greenland  be 
fore  the  time  of  Columbus.  It  is  built  with  stone  walls,  between  4 
and  5  feet  thick.  It  has  also  an  arched  window,  similar  to  those  in 
the  Old  Tower  of  Newport,  R.  I.  A  particular  account  of  this 
church  was  given  by  Captain  G.  W.  Grach,  R.  N.  The  Danes  have 
found  with  certainty  the  remains  of  5  out  of  12  churches,  left  by  the 
Northmen  in  the  Eastern  settlement  of  Greenland. 

Ah !  could  Columbus  rise  from  the  sleep  of  centuries,  and  behold, 
not  the  Eastern  part  of  China,  which,  to  the  day  of  his  death,  he  sup 
posed  he  had  discovered,  how  great  would  be  his  astonishment  in  see 
ing  a  new  Continent,  once  inhabited  by  enlightened  nations.  Would 
he  not  exclaim,  Here  was  the  primal  land  where  once  Eden  displayed 
her  lovely  groves,  enlivened  by  birds  of  every  plumage,  where  crystal 
fountains  gushed  amid  shrubs  of  the  deepest  verdure,  and  where  flow 
ers  of  all  hues  emitted  their  sweet  perfumes. 

It  will  be  recollected  that  Columbus  believed  that  the  Garden  of 
Eden  was  in  Para,  South  America,  the  only  part  of  the  Continent  he 
discovered,  and  where  Hesperian  fruits,  if  found,  were  found  there 
only. 


if 

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m 


mt 


From  Mnjor  Gen.  Jesitp. 
I  have  attended  the  Lectures  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Davis,  on  the  Discovery  of  America,  by 
the  Northmen,  with  much  pleasure  and  profit;  and  I  respectfully  recommend  him  to  the 
patronage  of  teachers,  and  the  public  generally. 
Y,  March  23j  1843, 


THOMAS  JESUP. 


From  the  President  and  Professors  of  Columbia  College)  D.  C. 
The  undersigned  cordially  join  in  the  recommendation  above  given. 

COLLEGE  HILL,  D.  C.,  Marcli  25,  1840.  £v£rH4?T&tr.i 

WM.   -HU  (jiiLifco, 
J.  C.  B.  CHAPLIN. 

Philadelphia,  Dec.  7,  1839. 

SIR.— I  attended,  a  few  days  since,  your  Lecture  in  this,  city,  "On  the  Discoveries  by 
the  Northmen,"  and  derived  very  great  pleasure  from  the  same. 

IViii"  by  birth  a  Northman,  and  having  for  some  years  studied  many  of  the  old  Ice 
landic  documents  concerning  this  interesting  subject,  I  hesitate  not  to  say  that  your  Lec 
ture  is  compiled  with  much  care  and  labor,  and  cannot  but  be  interesting  and  instructive 
to  all  persons.  Your  obedient  servant, 

C.  D.  ARFWEDSON,  U.  S.  Consul  at  SiocUn>lm. 

From  Mrs.  WillorJ,  of  Troy. 

Mr.  Davis  has  delivered  an  interesting  and  instructive  Lecture  Dialing  to  the  history 
">ers  of  the  Troy  Female  Seminary. 


. 
of  our  country,  to  the  members  of  the  Troy 


From  the  Boston  Daily  Advertiser,  Oct.  18. 

The  Lectures  now  being  delivered  in  this  city  by  the  Rev.  A.  Davis,  on  »  The  Discov- 
ery  of  the.  American  Continent  by  the  Northmen,"  and  on  the  «  Ruins  of  Central  Ameri 
ca,"  are  exceedingly  interesting.  I  had  the  pleasure  last  evening  of  being  an  auditor  of 
the  first  Lecture,  and  was,  in  common  with  many  others,  highly  gratified.  1  trust  that 
Mr  Davis  may  meet  with  that  success  which  he  deserves.  He  has  evidently  bestowed 
great  labor  and  investigation  upon  this  interesting  subject,  of  which  he  has  made  himselt 
perfectly  master.  Those  who  attend  Mr.  Davis'  Lectures  will  find  themselves  well  repaid 
for  the  time  they  may  spend,  by  the  instruction  and  pleasure  which  they  cannot  tail  to 

receive.  

From  Professor  Dean. 

1  have  rend  with  much  pleasure  the  Rev.  Mr.-Davis'  printed  Lecture  on  the  subject  o 
the  Ruins  and  the  Discovery  of  the  Northmen  of  this  Continent.     The  subject  iiselt  is 
-»>d  of  much  interest,   and   in   the    Lecture  much  research  is  evidenced,  nixUhe 
whole  treated  in  a  very  attractive  manner.  AMOS  DEAN. 

ALBANY,  March  31,  1842.  

From  the  Distinguished  Ornithologist, 

BUFFALO,  N  Y.,  Aug.  I. 

I  have  read  the  "Antiquities  of  Central  America,  and  the  discovery  of  New-Englaud 
by  the  Northmen  five  hundred  years  before  Columbus,"  by  A.  Davis,  Esq.,  with  extreme 
pleasure  and  satisfaction;  and  I  feel  much  indebted  to  that  learned  gentleman  for  all 
that  he  has  said  on  this  most  interesting  subject,  in  his  memorable  lecture  above  men 
tioned,  and  I  trust  that  it  will  be  as  highly  appreciated  by  all  who  may  peruse  it  us  by 
myself.  I  take  this  opportunity  to  offer  to  Mr.  Davis  my  sincere  thanks  for  his  goodness 
to  mo  and  have  great  pleasure  in  subscribing  myself  his  friend  and  respectful  humble  ser 
vant.  JOHN  J.  AUDUBON. 

To  A.  DAVIS,  formerly  Chaplain  of  the  Senate,  &c.,  N.Y. 

From  J.  J\rCaul,  D.D.,  L.L.D. 

KINGS  COLLEGE,  TORONTO,  May  30,  18-13. 

:\;y  Dear  Sir, — I  have  read  with  great  interest  your  brief  condensation  of  the  proofs 
which  may  be  advanced  of  the  discovery  of  America  before  the  voyages  of  Columbus 
and  the  evidence  afforded  by  the  ruins,  recently  discovered  in  the  Southern  part  of  this 
continent,  of  the  existence  of  a  powerful  and  civilized  nation,  previous  to  the  arrival  of 
the  Spaniards. 

The  subject  is  not  one  merely  calculated  to  excite  the  attention  and  reward  the  re 
searches  of  antiquarians,  but  is  also  capable  (as  per  testimonials  fully  demontrated)  of 
being  rendered  highly  attractive  in  a  popular  lecture. 

Belisve  me,  yoirrs  faithfully, 
Rfv.  A.  DAVIS.  JOHN  M'CAUL. 


Gaylord  Bros. 

Make'* 

Syracuse,  N  Y. 
PAT.  JAN.  21,1908 


